


A Witch's Curse

by ivebeenpossessedbysatan



Series: Freaking Witches [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby! Cas, Big Brother Gabriel, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon Divergence, Caring Dean, Curses, Declarations Of Love, I'll tag it just in case, Light Angst, M/M, Maybe? I don't know, No Smut, Sleepy Cuddles, Some Fluff, Some Humor, Spoilers, freaking witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 06:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 22,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2098695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivebeenpossessedbysatan/pseuds/ivebeenpossessedbysatan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean are taking a break from hunting when Gabriel suddenly appears - only he's not alone. He has a baby with him. A blue-eyed, black-haired baby he keeps saying is Castiel. It's up to Sam, Dean, and Gabriel to not only find out what did this and why, but to take care of the now human (and baby) Castiel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is already posted on Fanfiction.net, but I was a little afraid to post it here but I decided why not? It's not a WIP, I've already completed it, and I'll try to update once a week but I don't have reliable internet so I make no promises. Anyway, please tell me what you think. 
> 
> Also, the idea came from i-live-4-coffee on Tumblr, so I can't take all the credit. I just wrote it.

 Dean was in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner when he heard a rush of wings and Gabriel appeared. Before Dean could ask any questions, the archangel spoke in a rushed voice.

“Dean! I need your help! Where’s Sam? We’ll need him, too!”

“Gabriel? What the hell?” Dean said, wiping his hands on a dish towel. Instead of answering, Gabriel held out a black-haired, blue-eyed baby.  Dean took one step closer to examine the kid. Then he yelled to his brother.

“Sam! Get in here!” Sam ran into the room, shirtless, looking at Gabriel for an explanation. His hair was still wet.

“Gabriel, what…who is that!?” Sam said, looking back and forth between the angel and the baby.

“It-It’s C-Cas! B-but I don’t know what happened to him!” Gabriel said. He still had the baby held out, as if he was scared it would bite him. Dean looked shocked.

“Cas? But..how…why is he a baby?” Dean said, staring at the child.

“I don’t know! I just…I-I went to check on him and found him like this! And-and he’s completely human! I don’t know how to take care of a human baby!” Gabriel screamed. The noise was enough to make baby Cas start crying.

“Dammit, Gabriel, stop screaming!” Dean said loudly. He stepped forward and relieved Gabriel of the baby.  He started to rock and coo the baby, muttering things like “shh” and “it’ll be okay” and “Dammit, Cas, what the hell” and finally, Cas stopped crying. Dean looked up, still rocking the baby.

“Do you know what could have caused this?” Dean asked, and Gabriel shook his head.

“That’s why I came here.  I hoped you two would know.” Dean pursed his lips, thinking. Sam spoke up.

“What if he pissed off a witch?” Dean looked at Sam. He had almost forgotten about him being there.

“Would a witch have this much power? I mean….he’s an angel.” Dean said, gesturing to the bundle in his arms. Sam shrugged.

“His vessel is human, though. Maybe she turned the vessel into a baby and Cas is trapped?” Sam asked and turned to look at Gabriel.

“I guess it’s possible.” Gabriel said.  Dean looked down at the baby, who had fallen asleep snuggled into Dean’s chest with his thumb in his mouth.

“How do we fix it?” Dean asked. Gabriel looked up.

“If it was a witch, then we would have to find the exact spell she used and reverse it.” Gabriel said, very matter-of-factly.

“Why don’t we just find the bitch and gank it?” Dean spoke softly, but there was no denying the venom in his voice. It seemed that the hunter had taken it as a personal insult that someone would dare to turn his best friend-angel into a baby. Gabriel sighed.

“Because, Dean, if we did that, Cas could be stuck as a baby forever.” Gabriel said, sighing.

“What if we find the witch and get _her_ to reverse it?” Sam said. “I mean, it would be easier than looking through _every_ spell _every_ witch had ever used to find the _exact_ spell that we had to reverse.” Gabriel nodded.

“Smart Sammy…but we don’t even know if it was a witch. And if it was a witch, we don’t have any idea where to find her.” Gabriel pointed out. “and...well, Cas is still a human baby. He’s gonna do whatever human babies do.”

“Here’s an idea.” Dean growled. “How about you and Sam stay here, and I’ll go and find the bitch.” Dean passed the baby to Sam, but as soon as he was out of Dean’s arms, Cas started to bawl. Gabriel chuckled as Sam passed Cas right back.

“How about Sammy and I go and find her while you stay here and with baby Cassie?” Gabriel said. Once Cas was quiet again in Dean’s arms, Dean spoke up.

“Oh no. You two are NOT leaving me alone with him.” He turned towards Sam. “I don’t have any idea how to take care of a baby!” Dean said worriedly. Sam just looked at him.

“Well, before we make any rash decisions, maybe we should go shopping. Cas is going to need a lot of crap that we don’t have.” Gabriel nodded, and suddenly they were at a baby store. The sudden movement had woke up Cas and he started to cry. Dean cooed and shushed the baby into falling asleep again.

“Okay, Sammy go and get a cart. Gabriel, go find an assistant and ask them what we need to take care of a baby for….two weeks? And I’ll….well I guess I’ll stay here.” The two of them nodded and ran off. Dean stood there awkwardly and held the sleeping baby. Sam came back almost immediately.  Gabriel came back a few moments later, a pretty female assistant in tow.  
“Hi! My name is Kristy. How can I help you?”


	2. Taking Turns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long! To make it up to you I'm going to post two chapters right now. Thank you so much for your comments and kudos I love you all :)

Kristy was amazingly helpful. Not only did she tell them everything they would need, but she personally showed them where everything was and helped them guess about how much of everything they would need. They guessed that Cas was around six months old (at least, that’s what they told her). She stayed with them the entire time, giving advice on how to change a diaper or on which brands to buy. When they were finally finished, she stood by them as they checked over the cart.

“Let’s see we have: bottles, pacifiers, formula, baby food, diapers, baby wipes, baby powder, and a teddy bear.” She said, digging through the items in the cart. “Well, boys, it seems the only thing you are missing is clothes. They are on isles one and two. I trust you will be able to find them okay.” She smiled and walked off. Dean immediately made for the isles, ready to be out of this place. Sam and Gabriel followed a few paces behind him.

“So what do you think we should do about this?” Sam asked Gabriel in an undertone. Gabriel chuckled and nudged Sam.

“Well, we could always ditch him.” Gabriel winked, and Sam grinned.

“We could. But I think we should take turns, you know, staying with him.” Sam said.

“That’ll work, too.” Gabriel agreed. “Besides, one of us should be around to make sure Dean-o gets at least a little bit of sleep.” Gabriel laughed. Dean stopped and allowed them to catch up with him. Cas had been quiet the entire trip, sleeping peacefully nestled into Dean’s hunting jacket. Dean threw three packs of onesies in the cart. He picked up a pack of socks and one pair of shoes, along with a tiny jacket, and all of those items joined the onesies in the cart. Dean looked at Gabriel.

“Is that everything?” Gabriel nodded. “Alright then, let’s get out of here.” The trio walked to the front of the store and paid for the items. They had just walked out of the store when Gabriel popped them back into the kitchen. Cas woke up and started to cry again.

“Will you stop doing that?” Dean growled, rocking the baby trying to calm him down again. Gabriel just rolled his eyes.

“Well, Dean-o, I just assumed you didn’t want to walk fifteen miles.” Once Cas had quieted down, Dean turned to the other two men.

“So what are we doing?” He asked. Sam and Gabriel looked at each other. Sam cleared his throat.

“Well, Dean, you see Gabriel and I thought that….” Sam trailed off.

“We, well, Sammy and I, are going to take turns hunting for the witch and staying here with you, Dean-o.” Gabriel said, finishing the sentence. Dean scowled.  

“Why can’t we all take turns?” Dean almost pouted, causing the other two to laugh.

“Because Cassie isn’t going to let you. Trust me. I was the one he clung to when he was an actual baby.” Gabriel said, smiling a little. Dean grumbled, and started to put Cas into clean clothes, as the little suit and trench coat he was wearing didn’t look entirely comfortable.

He also had to put a diaper on him. Crap.

“So, which of you are staying here first?” Dean asked, breaking the silence as he finished forcing baby Cas into a onesie.  Gabriel cleared his throat.

“Sam.” He said, and then was gone. Dean cursed under his breath as he turned to look at his little brother.

“Hey, uhh, Sam?” he asked.

“Yeah, Dean?” Sam looked up from putting the baby supplies away.

“Do you, umm… know how to fix a bottle?” Dean asked. Sam chuckled.

“No, but there’s a recipe on the container.” Sam tossed the formula towards him, momentarily forgetting that Dean was, in fact, holding a baby. Dean just managed to catch the container in his free hand, glaring at Sam when he had it. Sam handed him a bottle, grinning apologetically, and then left the kitchen. Dean rolled his eyes as Sam walked out.

“Bitch!” he called.

“Jerk!” came the answer from the living room. Dean moved around, trying to prepare the bottle with one hand. He had added the powder and was filling it up with water when Cas started to make noise again. He was trying to talk, but no one seemed to be able to hear him and the words just weren’t coming out right. Dean shook the bottle up and ran it under hot water for a minute, before offering the bottle to Cas, who absolutely refused to take it.

“Come on , Cas. You’ve got to be hungry!” Dean said, exasperated. But little Cas was adamant about not taking that bottle.

“Dean!” Sam called from the other room. “You have to let him taste it! Try putting some on your finger!” Dean growled and shook his head. He shifted Cas so he could squeeze some of the liquid onto his finger, then proceeded to put his finger in Cas’ mouth. After that, Cas took the bottle with no complaint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Kudos? Please?


	3. Cas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second update for today! I hope you like it :) You get Cas' point of view in this chapter.

It was ridiculous. This little human body couldn’t do anything but cry and move. Cas struggled to say something but every time he did, it would come out as a string of babble and Dean would shush him. But now he was drinking whatever was in the bottle and had finally stopped trying to speak. He heard Sam come into the kitchen.

“Don’t forget to burp him, when he’s done.” Sam said. Cas heard the refrigerator door open and close and Sam walked back out of the kitchen. The stuff in the bottle was delicious. But too soon, it was gone, and Dean took the bottle away. Dean shifted Cas onto his shoulder and started to gently pat him on the back.  All of the sudden he burped, and immediately felt a pressure lifted off of him.

“There you go, buddy.” Dean said, and moved him back so he was in one arm again. Dean went to the sink and rinsed out the bottle before carrying Cas into the living room.

“Do you think Cas is still in here?” He asked Sam. Cas tried to say ‘yes’ but all that came out was babble that caused Dean to shush him.

“I don’t know, Dean. It’s possible…but maybe it’s best if we don’t think about it.” Sam answered, not glancing up from his laptop. Dean shrugged, jostling Cas just a little.

“Yeah, I guess so. Treat him like any other baby.” Dean said, looking down and rocking the little angel gently. Cas wasn’t so sure he liked this yet, but Dean was much gentler than Gabriel had been. Then Cas noticed something, something that caused both Sam and Dean to wrinkle their noses.

“Speaking of normal babies….” Sam trailed off, grinning. Dean groaned and held Cas away from him.

“No. There is no way in hell that I am changing a dirty diaper.” Dean said indignantly, but less than two minutes later, Dean had Cas down and was attempting to clean him up. Cas hadn’t meant to do it-it had just happened. And he definitely did _not_ like this. He did not like this _at all_. He squirmed uncomfortably as Dean changed him. He didn’t really understand how Dean could be so nonchalant about it. Then Cas remembered that Dean didn’t see him as Cas, he saw him as a baby. And there was nothing _weird_ about doing this to a baby. But it was sure as hell weird for Cas. Thankfully, it was over rather quickly and he was bundled into Dean’s arms again. Dean started to talk in a low voice, gently rocking him back and forth. The combination of Dean’s voice and the gentle rocking motion were making him….tired. Sleepy. He yawned once, and then snuggled into the hunter’s jacket and was asleep within minutes.

“Thank God.” Dean said, when he realized that Cas had finally fallen asleep. Hell, he had only had him for like six hours and he was _already_ exhausted. Dean yawned. Damn he really needed to sleep. But Cas was sticking to him like flypaper. Sam looked up, sighed, and held out his arms.

“Here, I’ll take him. You go and get some sleep.” Dean gratefully passed Cas to Sam-careful not to wake him up- and went to find his bed. Perhaps he was a little eager to push Cas off on someone else. He had had quite enough of being a daddy. Dean kicked his boots off and fell on top of the covers, fully dressed, and passed out.

Dean was awoken roughly six hours later to a warm body snuggling into his side. He looked up and saw Gabriel and Sam standing by his bed.

“What the hell?” he asked, as he climbed out of the bed. Cas started to cry, but Dean plucked him up before he had a chance to really start. Gabriel and Sam exchanged looks before turning their eyes to Dean.

“Gabe found something.” Sam said, “We were going to let you sleep until Cas woke up and wanted you.” Dean grumbled and yawned. Cas started to play with the zipper on Dean’s jacket. He wasn’t listening to the conversation, really. At least not until Dean spoke.

“You said you found something, Gabe?” Cas dropped the zipper and started to wiggle, trying to say something but-once again- all that came out was noise. Dean shushed him, and when Gabriel started to talk, Cas was quiet so he could hear.

“Yeah, Dean-o. This symbol,” Gabriel held up a drawing, “was carved on a tree near Cas’ hiding place. I figured it may be something.” Cas looked at the drawing and started to wiggle, trying desperately to talk. Obviously, he couldn’t form sentences but he may, he just _may_ be able to say words. He concentrated and tried to say one word: Dean.

“De!” he managed. Well, it wasn’t _Dean_ exactly but it was close enough. The effect was immediate. All three of them stopped talking and looked at him. Sam spoke first.

“Did he just say…” Cas concentrated on saying a different word, this time, Sam.

“Smmm!” he gasped. Gabriel broke into a smile and clapped his hands together.

“Well, Dean-o, I think little Cassie’s first word was your name.” Dean glared at Gabriel for a moment but his eyes quickly turned back to Cas.

“Are you in there, Cas?” Dean asked, and Cas nodded vigorously, happy he that someone finally understood him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to beg for comments or kudos, but I just may have to ask pretty please?


	4. Witches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about how long this took. I'm posting three chapters today to make up for it. (Since it's been about three weeks).

Dean was getting excited now. Cas could understand them! Which means they could get somewhere with finding out how to change the angel back!

“Do you know what did this to you, Cas?” Dean asked quickly. The tiny angel nodded his head. Dean smiled, happy to finally be getting somewhere.

“Was it a witch?” Dean asked. Another nod. Dean was getting really excited now. Sam and Gabriel both stood back and watched him, trying not to laugh.

“Do you know where to find her?”  At that, Cas whimpered and shook his head, then he started to cry. Dean switched into concerned-parent mode immediately.

“No, Cas, no. Shh.” Dean soothed, moving Cas onto his shoulder and rubbing his back gently. When Cas had quieted down Dean spoke.

“Well, Sammy, you were right about the witch.” He said, still rocking Cas gently. Sam nodded.

“Yeah, but we still don’t know who she is or where to find her. Or if it’s even a _her_.” Sam replied. Dean nodded.

“Okay so new plan. Gabriel, you go back and look for any more clues. Sam, work your magic on that symbol. See if you can find anything about it.” Gabriel nodded and was gone. Sam immediately went to his laptop and was absorbed within minutes. Dean looked at Cas.

“Are you hungry?” Cas nodded. Dean walked into the kitchen and began to prepare a bottle. When it was finished he transferred Cas from his shoulder and cradled him. Cas accepted the bottle without complaint this time. Dean started to walk around the kitchen as he was feeding him.

“Ah, Cas, how the hell did you get yourself into this?” Dean whispered. Cas shrugged and continued to suck down the contents of his bottle. Dean shook his head.

“You probably didn’t even realize you did anything wrong. At least, until you woke up like this.” Dean gestured to the little body. “I bet you’re regretting it now.” Little Cas stayed silent, probably ignoring Dean, who just sighed and shook his head.

Cas finished the bottle in record time. In what seemed like no time at all, Dean was rinsing out the bottle and burping him. Dean had just decided that a diaper change was in order and was halfway through when he heard Sam yell.

“I found it!” Dean quickly finished what he was doing and half-ran into the living room.

“You found it?” he clarified, moving to look over Sam’s shoulder. Cas leaned a little so he could see, as well. Sam nodded.

“It’s a symbol from a coven in Wisconsin. They call themselves ‘White Thorn.’” Sam said, showing Dean. “I have their website pulled up.” Dean smiled and clapped his brother on the back.

“Good work, Sammy.” He said. Cas was showing his excitement by wiggling and making cooing noises. Dean almost dropped him.

“Calm down, Cas!” he said, repositioning the baby. Then he looked back at Sam. “Call Gabriel. We need to get to Wisconsin ASAP.” Sam frowned.

“Why do I have to call him? Why can’t you?” Dean smiled and held Cas out.

“I’ve already got my angel. Now it’s time for you to call _yours._ ” Sam gave Dean his ultimate bitch-face.

“He’s _not_ my angel.” He grumbled, but nonetheless he prayed.

“Umm, Gabe, we have a situation. Kindly report immediately….umm…” Sam paused, “over?” Dean burst out laughing as Gabriel appeared.

“That was kind of formal, don’t you think, Sammy?” Gabriel asked, grinning and nudging Sam. Sam bitch-faced Gabriel as well and turned away from both of them. Dean was still laughing in the background.

“So what’s the situation?” Gabriel asked, looking at Dean first but it was apparent that Dean was going to be incapable of speech for the time being. Gabriel turned towards Sam, who sighed.

“I found the symbol. It’s from a coven in Wisconsin. They call themselves ‘White Thorn.’ And they supposedly have a knack for age spells.” Sam said. Gabriel raised his eyebrows.

“Isn’t ‘White Thorn’ and old rock band?” he asks. Dean rolls his eyes.

“It’s ‘White Snake’ you’re thinking of. And you didn’t tell me that.” Dean said, looking at his little brother. Sam raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t give me a chance to.” He replied, staring right back at Dean. A silence stretched on only to be broken by Gabriel.

“So, ladies, what’s our game plan?” He asked, and both brothers looked at him. Dean cleared his throat.

“We go to Wisconsin, find the bitch that did this to Cas, and we make her reverse it. Simple as that.” Sam shook his head.

“Dean, we are going to have to scope the place out first. We don’t know what we are up against. You don’t really want to go in blind with guns blazing, do you?” Dean didn’t speak because yes, that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted to get his best friend back and that was the quickest way to do it.

“No, I guess not.” Dean said, grudgingly. He adjusted Cas.

“Good. So how about we go to Wisconsin, we get a hotel, and we stake the place out for a couple of days? We can do the whole FBI thing and see if we can’t find out more about what we’re up against.” Dean nodded.

“Fine. But be ready to go in 10 minutes. It’s a long drive to Wisconsin.” Gabriel snorted.

“What am I, chopped liver?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always welcome :)


	5. Hotel Rooms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second post of today :)

“So, are we all going to go?” Gabriel asked as they were packing. Sam paused holding a pair of boxers.

“Do you think we should? I mean, the witch will probably need Cas there to actually reverse the spell. But…” he hesitated “it could be dangerous to have him there.” Dean shook his head.

“I don’t think so, Sam. If she wanted him dead she could’ve just killed him.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, Dean only it’s not exactly easy to kill an angel.” Dean opened his mouth to remark but Sam cut him off. “What do you think, Gabriel?” Gabriel shrugged.

“Why not? Just pack some diapers and stuff.” Dean started to direct Sam to pack what they would need.

“Why don’t you do it?” Sam said after a moment. Dean shrugged.

“Okay, fine, you hold Cas.” He gave the angel to Sam and immediately he started to scream. Dean smiled triumphantly as Cas was handed right back to him. Sam rolled his eyes and continued to pack.

            Roughly ten minutes later, the three of them were standing on a busy street in Wisconsin. Dean looked a Gabriel.

“You know, we are going to need a hotel.” He said, raising one eyebrow. Gabriel shook his head and pointed across the road to a fancy building.

“Use your eyes, Dean-o. Fairview Hotel. Best hotel in Wisconsin.” Dean looked down, shuffling his feet in embarrassment. Sam chuckled and they all three walked across the street. When they stepped into the lobby, Sam ran off to check them in, leaving Dean and Cas alone with Gabriel. He was eating candy and not paying attention to anything until Sam came back.

“Room 263.” Sam said, and they picked up their bags and headed towards the elevator. While they were waiting, a woman walked up and stood beside Dean. She was tall and shapely, with long black hair. She smiled at him and nodded towards little Cas.

“Is he yours?” She asked. Dean shook his head, and then decided to have some fun.

“Theirs’ actually.” He jerked his head towards Sam and Gabriel. Her eyes widened in surprise and Dean continued. “I just came along to give them a break. New babies, you know.” Dean grinned at Sam as she turned to look at the two of them. The look Sam gave him was murderous. Gabriel, however, chuckled and wrapped one arm around Sam.

“Yeah, that’s right. This hunk of a man is all mine.” He said, squeezing him once. Sam blushed and looked down, avoiding the woman’s eyes. The elevator _dinged_ and Sam was spared from having to comment. Dean could barely control his laughter as the five of them (Sam, Gabriel, Dean, Cas and the woman) all climbed onto the elevator. She got off on the first floor, and Sam glared at Dean, who busted out laughing.

“That wasn’t funny, Dean.” He said, giving Dean his bitch-face. Dean kept laughing until a smell wafted up from the tiny bundle in his arms.

“Did you just….?” He asked, and the tiny angel whimpered and buried his head in Dean’s jacket in embarrassment. Dean looked up and saw Gabriel grinning. There was a rustle of feathers and suddenly he was alone in the elevator with Cas. Dean shook his head and addressed the angel.

“I’ll change you when we get to the room. Oh and….” He trailed off, cleared his throat, and started again. “Once you are back to…y’know, you…we never speak of this again. Okay?” Little Cas nodded and hid in Dean’s jacket again as the elevator _dinged_ again, announcing their arrival on the second floor. “Not like it matters, really. Between Gabe and Sammy, we are never going to live this down.” Dean sighed, and walked straight to the room and unlocked the door, entering to find Gabriel and Sam sitting at the table, both poring over Sam’s laptop and what he presumed to be the ‘White Thorn’ website. He ignored both of them and walked to one of the two queen beds and began the process of changing Cas’ diaper. Gabriel cleared his throat and disappeared. Before Dean had even finished changing the tiny angel, Gabriel was back with a huge bag of what appeared to be burgers. Dean quickly finished what he was doing and washed his hands before making his way towards the bag of food. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to pick Cas up and the little angel started to cry. Dean sighed, but nevertheless he walked back over to the angel and picked him up before returning to his abandoned food. Gabriel smiled.

“Are you sure you even want the old Cassie back?” Gabriel asked, as he was throwing Sam a shake-up salad. Dean rolled his eyes.

“I am beyond sure I want Cas back.” Dean was attempting to eat around Cas, who was touching his face. “Jesus fuck Cas, cut it out!” he exclaimed, dodging the baby’s tiny hand. Cas just whined and eagerly reached out towards the burger. Dean blinked and finally understood. “Cas, you don’t have teeth. You can’t chew this. And I am NOT going all momma bird on you. Sorry, buddy.” Cas shook his head.

“Do you want some baby food?” the hunter asked, placing  his half-finished burger on the table. Cas nodded eagerly and stretched towards the bag he knew was hiding his very own form of nutrition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are loved and appreciated. I promise I will respond to all comments, it may take a little while.


	6. Bath Time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter for today!

            Dean sighed and looked over at the diaper bag and then back at Cas.

“You’re going to have to let one of the others hold you. At least until you are finished eating.” Dean told the little angel. Cas shook his head and started to whine, squirming away from the other two men. Gabriel smirked.

“Looks like someone is going to need a nappy-wappy after he eats.” Gabriel said, adopting one of the most annoying baby voices Dean had ever heard. Cas ignored  him and clung to Dean.

“Cas, I can’t feed and hold you at the same time!” Dean said, exasperated. Cas stubbornly shook his head. “Will you at least sit?” The hunter pleaded. The angel gave this a little thought and nodded, stretching towards Gabriel. The archangel looked surprised, but nevertheless he held out his hands for Cas. Gabriel settled the baby on his lap and held him lightly.

Dean sighed in relief and went to fix the baby food. He chose carrots (because if he was being honest, they didn’t really taste all that bad) and spooned a little bit onto a plate. He debated on warming them up but ultimately decided against it. He picked up a plastic spoon, along with the plate and walked over to where Cas was sitting. Gabriel adjusted the baby as Dean neared him with the food. The hunter put a little onto a spoon and offered it to the little angel. Cas eyed the spoon suspiciously, but after a few moments his hunger seemed to win. He leaned forward slightly and accepted the offered spoon.

Dean wasn’t sure whether it was his own inexperience with feeding babies, or whether it was Cas’ inexperience with eating _period_ but whatever the reason, between the two of them, the carrot mush had somehow managed to get all over the little angel. As Dean stood up to throw away the spoon and plate, Cas began to play with in it.

“Jesus, Cas, stop!” Dean ran over and plucked up the baby, careful not to any of the carrot mush on himself. “I’m going to have to give you a bath, aren’t I?” Cas looked up, confused. He tilted his head and you could almost hear him asking ‘What’s a bath?’ Dean laughed at the expression. It reminded him of so much of the bigger Cas’ that he couldn’t help it. It was good to know that it really was still his angel. Just a little smaller. And more fragile. Sam spoke up suddenly from behind the computer.

“The witches are having a ritual tomorrow because of the full moon. They have directions on their website.” He said, turning his computer around to show the other two. “It says that outsiders are welcome to come and observe. We could go and pretend to be interested. We’d have to do it today, though. You have to register to watch.” Gabriel nodded.

“Alright, Sammy, let’s go and give these two some privacy.” Gabriel said before vanishing into thin air. Dean muttered darkly as they disappeared. Gabriel was getting on his nerves bad. Dean turned and went into the bathroom. He turned the water on in the bathtub and adjusted the water, making it lukewarm. The hunter waited until there was about two inches of water in the tub before turning it off. He quickly took the carrot-covered clothes off of the baby and sat him in the water.

            After the initial shock, Cas decided he liked the water. It was warm and pliable to his touch. He slapped at it, fascinated by the ripples that were created. Dean gently splashed water onto the baby before squeezing some baby shampoo into his hand and starting to wash Cas’ head. Cas stopped playing and hummed quietly. It felt nice to have the hunter washing his hair, he found, and the knowledge surprised him. Maybe that’s why humans like to touch so much.

Dean quickly washed the rest of him and rinsed him off gently. When Cas was clean Dean looked down.

“Do you still want to play in the water?” he asked. Cas nodded, but then yawned and shook his head. Dean got a towel ready and lifted him out of the tub, pulling the plug and allowing the water to drain. The hunter wrapped the towel around the angel and took him from the bathroom. He dried the little angel off and then dressed him. Cas yawned again and cuddled into Dean’s chest, one fist curling over his jacket, the other thumb in his mouth. Dean kicked off his boots and lay on the bed with the baby still on his chest. Dean had only meant to lie down until Cas fell asleep, but before he knew it both him and his little angel were fast asleep.

           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated :)


	7. Slamming Doors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look guys I'm not incredibly late! Yay!

Gabriel and Sam popped back in and saw Dean fast asleep on the bed, with Cas cradled into his chest. Gabriel shushed Sam and pointed.

“Aww, wook at ‘em, Sammy.” Gabriel whispered. Sam laughed and tried to put the papers he was holding down quietly so as not to wake them. The rustle of paper caused Cas to stir anyway, and that woke Dean up. Dean yawned and stretched, slowly sitting up. The tiny angel fell back asleep almost immediately, and Dean stood up, turning around and gently putting the sleeping angel back down onto the bed. He turned to the other two men and saw their grins.

“Don’t say a word.” He said, brushing past them and making his way to the bathroom. He turned midway there and made a beeline for his bag. The hunter grabbed his toothpaste and brush out of his bag and made his way back to bathroom. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

“Come on, Dean-0, you guys are sooo cute.” Gabriel smirked.

“Fuck off!” Dean yelled as he slammed the bathroom door. Gabriel chuckled and turned to Sam.

“So are we all going to go to this ritual?” he asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down, somehow producing a lollipop from nowhere. Sam shrugged.

“I’m not sure we should expose Cas like that. I mean, if the witch sees him it could force a reaction. I’m not sure what she’d do with a group of people around.”

“Would she even recognize him, though? Do you think she saw him as a baby?” Gabriel asked, twirling his sucker. Sam shrugged again.

“There’s no way we can tell for sure. She may have just cursed him and never got a chance to see if it worked. Do you know how long he was a baby before you found him?” Gabriel shook his head.

“All I know is that I checked on him three days ago and he was fine. I go back yesterday and he’s an infant.” Sam nodded.

“That gives us…what 48 hours in which he could’ve been turned? Not a huge time period but its witches so we don’t know for sure when the spell was cast. It could have just taken this long to work.” Sam shook his head. “God, I hate witches.” Dean came out of the bathroom.

“We are all going to go. I will not be a babysitter the entire time. I will help get Cas back.” He stated, walking back to his bag to put his toothbrush up. Then he turned around. “I don’t think she’ll be any danger to Cas if we do bring him. She could’ve found a way to kill him if she really wanted to. My guess, this was to teach him a lesson.” Gabriel looked up at Dean.

“What could he have done that would make turning him into a baby into a lesson?” Dean shrugged.

“I’m not sure. But whatever the reason, she may not turn him back until she feels he’s learned whatever lesson she’s teaching.” Cas woke up at that moment and noticed he was alone. He panicked and started to wiggle and cry, causing Dean to immediately get up and go pick him up. He calmed down the moment the hunter’s hands were on him. Dean looked down at Cas as he settled the baby in his arms.

“Cas? Do you think you could point out the witch that did this to you if you saw her?” Cas thought for a moment and then slowly nodded his head. Dean grinned and turned to the other guys. “See, if we take him he could help us identify the witch.” Cas nodded enthusiastically. He didn’t want to be cooped up in this hotel room the duration of their stay any more than Dean did. He was prepared to go out in public, even if it would be as a baby. Gabriel and Sam both shrugged in defeat.

“Fine, we can all go. But Dean, if anything happens to my baby brother…” Gabriel threatened.

“You really think I would put Cas in danger?” Dean growled, stepping close to the archangel. Gabriel stood his ground.

“You’ve been known to act rashly, Dean. Sometimes people get hurt.” Dean winced slightly.

“I would never, ever, hurt anyone on purpose, Gabriel. I would give my life for anyone of you in this room, for anyone else that I’ve gotten hurt. I would gladly take their place.” Dean said, his eyes flashing. “If you think for one second I would put my life above anyone else’s life, especially Cas’ or Sam’s, you’ve got another thing coming.” Dean shoved past the archangel and grabbed his jacket, making his way towards the door. He turned to glare at Gabriel one more time before opening the door and walking out, slamming it behind him. Gabriel turned and looked at Sam, who shrugged.

“I think I crossed a line.” Gabriel said, deflating slightly. He sat back down in this abandoned chair. Sam didn’t say anything, and Gabriel took that as an affirmative. He may have to apologize to the broken hunter. Gabriel sighed. _He’ll be back soon._ The archangel thought. _I’ll apologize when he gets back._


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a terrible individual and you should all hate me. But I promise I haven't and won't abandon this story. I've been extremely busy but I should be back now.

Chapter 8: Is it time?

            Dean stormed down the hallway and angrily punched the button on the elevator. He was seething. The nerve that Gabriel had to say that he didn’t have Cas’ best interest in mind? Cas was quiet. He seemed scared to do anything that would upset Dean anymore, so he quietly snuggled his head into the hunter’s jacket, causing Dean look down. Emotion tightened in the man’s eyes.

“You know I would never, _ever_ hurt you on purpose, right Cas?” Dean said, his eyes pleading. The tiny angel looked up at his hunter and nodded. Dean sighed and closed his eyes. He moved the tiny angel slightly and held him in both hands. It felt nice, all this touching. No wonder humans liked to touch each other so much. It felt good.

            Dean stepped out of the elevator and made his way across lobby. The amount of emotions running through him at the moment was astonishing. Not only was he mad enough to set hell on fire, he was also sad and for some fucking reason he was also anxious. Everything Gabriel had said had brought all of his repressed emotions to the surface. Did Gabriel really think that he didn’t regret Ash or Pam or any of the rest of the people he had gotten killed? Did he really think that if Dean had a choice that he would take the place of every single one of them? Dean felt tears start to well up in his eyes and he took a deep breath, trying to hold them back. For fuck’s sake he didn’t want to cry walking down some random street in Wisconsin with an angel of the lord-turned human baby in his arms.

            Cas could tell something was really wrong with Dean. He didn’t have much practice reading human emotions but he did have a lot of practice reading Dean. And the speed of which emotions were flashing across the hunter’s face was alarming to the tiny angel. And he had no idea what to do to help him. They had somehow found their way to a park and Dean had sat them down on a bench. It was almost dark, with just a hint of pink at the horizon. Dean sighed and leaned back. He looked down at Cas.

“I had to get out of there. I would’ve punched Gabriel.” He chuckled. “That would’ve probably ended up hurting me more than it would have him.” Cas sat there, looking up at Dean. “I hate it that people get hurt around me. I hate that I can’t save everyone. I try so hard to save everyone. A-and I can’t.” Dean’s voice choked with emotion. Cas was at a loss of what to do. He wanted to comfort Dean but he just didn’t know how.  He reached towards the hunters face but couldn’t reach it. The angel burrowed his head into Dean’s chest because he didn’t know what else to do. Surprisingly, Dean moved his hand to Cas’ back and cradled him against his chest. Cas was surprised, but he snuggled back, sensing that Dean needed this. Dean put his head into Cas’ hair. He wasn’t crying, not really. After a minute Dean looked up and so did the little angel.  They sat there in silence for a while, Dean watching the sky fade into black and Cas watching Dean. Dean broke the silence.

“I guess we’d better get back. Thanks for listening, Cas.” Dean looked down at the angel, smiling slightly. “Let’s add this to the things we don’t talk about when you are back to normal, huh?” Cas nodded. He was glad that the hunter was in a better mood. Dean stood up and made his way out of the park, walking back down the street towards the hotel. Cas watched Dean. He was silent as they walked back. Even though he had just woken up, he felt sleepy again. This tiny human body required so much rest! Quite frankly, it was annoying. Cas yawned as they walked through the front doors of the hotel and was asleep by the time they got to the elevator.  

            Dean watched Cas fight and ultimately lose the battle of sleep. As the tiny angel nodded off his hand curled around Dean’s jacket and his thumb went into his mouth. That seemed to be his preferred way to sleep. It made Dean smile. As he was waiting for the elevator he same lady from earlier approached Dean again. She smiled at him.

“Hello again. Trying to get away from your friends?” Dean smiled.

“Yeah, the room got a little stuffy. I just stepped out for a minute.” Dean said. The elevator came and they climbed aboard. The woman was obviously interested, and if it hadn’t been for Cas, Dean would have probably gone for it. She got off first, winking at him, saying “Room 132” as she stepped off. Dean shook his head. _Not tonight, babe._ He thought. The elevator dinged, announcing his arrival on his floor. He steeled himself and then stepped out of the elevator, ready to face whatever was waiting for him inside the room.


	9. Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's Chapter Nine, guys! Thank you for all the comments, I promise I'll get around to answering them all. Until then, enjoy!

Dean pushed open the door to their room. Sam was nowhere in sight, but Gabriel was sitting at the desk with Sam’s laptop open in front of him. As soon as Dean stepped in the door Gabriel stood up. It was obvious he had been waiting on him.

“Dean.” The archangel said. For two seconds Dean considered hitting him. The next two seconds Dean contemplated ignoring him. Instead of doing either of those things, Dean decided to hear him out. Gabriel shifted around, clearly uncomfortable. Seriously, it was almost worth it just to watch him squirm. Gabriel cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I should have never said those things to you. I didn’t think before I spoke. I apologize.” The sincerity behind his words was unmistakable. Dean nodded.

“S’alright. You were just trying to protect your brother. I understand.” Dean sighed and changed the subject. “Where’s Sammy?” Gabriel shrugged, producing a lollipop from nowhere.

“I dunno. He said something about not being able to stand the sexual tension…”

“I did not.” Sam cut the archangel off as he stepped out of the bathroom. Gabriel grinned as Sam rolled his eyes at him. Dean cleared his throat.

“Do I need to leave again…?” Dean asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Gabriel said, smirking and taking a step closer to Sam.

“No!” Sam said, at the exact same time, stepping away from Gabriel. Dean couldn’t help but laugh. He walked past the two of them to one of the beds. He gently laid Cas down on one of the pillows and covered him in his jacket, hoping that would keep him asleep a little longer. Dean looked up.

“Are there any burgers left from earlier?” He asked. Maybe now that Cas was asleep he could get a decent meal. Gabriel nodded. “There are some fries, too, but they are probably cold.” Dean nodded and went to the bag. He grabbed a burger and fries and put them in the microwave, setting it for a minute. He waited impatiently for it to heat up, his stomach growling uncomfortably. Reheated French fries were generally terrible but Dean figured he could disguise that with ketchup. The microwave beeped and Dean took his food out, finding the tiny packs of ketchup in the bag and covering his fries with it.

When he walked back into the room he caught what looked like the end of an argument between Sam and Gabriel. They shut up as soon as Dean entered the room. Dean didn’t say anything, just watched them closely as he sat down at the table. He took a bite of the burger and started to chew slowly, his eyes still on the pair of them. Gabriel looked irritated and Sam looked…scared? What the hell was up with that shit? Dean swallowed.

“Did I miss something?” he asked.

“No, nothing at all.” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes in Sam’s direction and then going to cut on the television. Dean caught Sam’s eye and raised an eyebrow. Sammy shook his head and went to stretch out on the other bed. Dean kept eating but his mind was racing, wondering what in the hell could be going on between his brother and Gabriel. Eventually he decided to forget it. Sam was a big boy. He could handle whatever it was.

            Cas woke up to the sound of the television. He stretched, and closed his eyes again, intent on getting more sleep. At least until he realized that he was alone. He hadn’t noticed it at first because of Dean’s jacket. It smelled like the man. Cas started to squirm, worried that something had happened to the hunter. He struggled to push the jacket off of him but it was too heavy. He started to cry out of frustration.

            Dean had just finished eating when he saw his jacket move. He smiled slightly, and threw away the trash before slowly making his way over to the tiny angel, at least until Cas started to scream. Dean hurried over to the side of the bed and plucked him up, and cradled him.

“Shh, Cas, it’s alright. I’m here.” The little angel stopped and gazed up at Dean before burrowing into his shirt. Dean just smiled and held the angel. Although, he would never _ever EVER_ admit this out loud, it actually made him feel really good that he was the one that Cas chose to cling to. It didn’t really make sense, he had known Gabriel longer, but for some reason the little angel had decided that he wanted to attach himself to Dean. It gave Dean a sense of….pride, almost, with the fact that Cas trusted him enough to let the hunter be his almost sole caretaker. Dean yawned and decided he should probably get to bed, that nap earlier had hardly done anything. Dean changed Cas before laying him down on the bed and placing Cas beside him. The tiny angel snuggled right up against him and was asleep almost instantly. Dean wasn’t far behind.


	10. Sabriel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second (and probably last) Chapter of today! Thanks for all the support!

Chapter 10: Sabriel   
Sam looked over at the other bed, watching Dean snuggle up next to Cas. He smiled. It was so cute that Cas wouldn’t let anyone else care for him. A sudden idea came to him, and Sam got off the bed and grabbed his phone. He turned off the sound and started to take pictures of Cas and Dean. Ha. This would be great blackmail later. As Sam put his phone away, he noticed Gabriel was still ignoring him. He sighed and walked over to the archangel.  
“Gabe…” he said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Gabriel looked up at him.  
“Oh, so we are allowed to touch now?” Gabriel stood up, brushing Sam’s hand off of his shoulder. It didn’t make much of a difference, really, but Gabriel felt better about standing up. “Seriously, Sam. Are we going to keep this a secret forever? Are you that ashamed of me? I mean, really, I know I’m short but for God’s sake, I’m an archangel.” Gabriel said, jokingly. “I’m one of the only four angels to ever see God’s face. That has got to count for something, right?” Sam shook his head. He knew that through the joking, Gabriel was really hurt.  
“I’m not ashamed, Gabe. I-I just don’t know how to tell him.” Sam pleaded. He reached out and took Gabriel’s hand. “This is all new to me. I’m just not…ready to tell him.” The archangel sighed. Sam put his hand on the other man’s face and bent down to kiss him. Gabriel responded, stretching up on his toes so Sam didn’t have to reach so far. Sam pulled away, but rested his forehead against Gabriel’s. “Please.” He whispered. Gabriel nodded slowly. Sam kissed him again, harder this time. Gabriel ran his tongue along Sam’s lower lip and Sam opened his mouth and teased Gabriel’s tongue with his own. They kissed for a few minutes, each holding the other tightly. Wordlessly they stopped, and Gabriel led Sam over to the bed. He crawled into the bed and patted the space beside him.   
“Come on, Moosey, you need to get some sleep. We gotta go hunt witches tomorrow.” Sam smiled climbed into the bed beside the archangel. He opened his arms and Gabriel laid his head on Sam’s chest. Sam knew that the angel didn’t need sleep but he stayed because Sam liked to hold him while he slept. Sam kissed the top of the archangels head.  
“Goodnight, Gabe.”  
“Goodnight, Sammy.”  
Dean woke up to the sun shining brightly into the hotel room. He yawned and stretched, instantly looking down to ensure he hadn’t crushed Cas in his sleep. The tiny angel was still asleep, his little fist balled in Dean’s shirt. Dean smiled at how cute the baby looked. It really was adorable. As if sensing Dean’s gaze, Cas woke up, stretching and yawning, then opening his eyes and blinking a few times in the light. He looked up saw Dean watching him.   
“De…” he said sleepily. Dean smiled and couldn’t help but pick up him up. Cas yawned and stretched again, nuzzling into Dean’s shirt. The hunter put a soothing hand on the baby’s back. He heard a muffled snort from the other bed and looked over at Sam. His brother was still asleep, and smiling slightly as he snuggled a pillow. Dean almost laughed, seeing his brother’s gigantic form hunched around the tiny pillow. Dean looked around the room and noticed that he didn’t see Gabriel anywhere. Hmm. That was strange.  
Cas was slowly waking up, becoming more and more aware of the gnawing hunger in his stomach. He stretched back and poked at Dean’s face. When the hunter looked down at him Cas whined a little. Dean seemed to understand immediately.  
“Hold on, Cas, I just gotta change you first.” Ugh. Cas just wanted food. He hated how awkward it was when Dean changed him. It made the angel extremely uncomfortable, but he supposed it was necessary. It was over rather quickly, though, because Dean was getting steadily faster at it. As Dean picked him back up, he asked him.   
“So what is it? Bottle or food?” Cas pursed his lips, thinking. Food would fill him up faster but a bottle would be easier for Dean. Cas looked up and Dean and concentrated  
“Ba-ba.” Okay, that wasn’t at all what he wanted to say. Dean nodded, though, understanding anyway. Cas watched as Dean walked into the kitchen and began to prepare a bottle. The angel noticed that Dean didn’t read the side of the formula container anymore. A sudden rush of gratitude flooded through the little angel. He was so grateful to Dean for doing all of this for him because he couldn’t do it himself. The hunter had literally dropped everything to come and help him. Cas smiled and now, more than ever, he wished that he could talk so that he could tell Dean exactly how grateful that he was. Never before had he wanted to say words more than he wanted to say ‘thank you’ in that moment. He resolved to try.  
“Ank ooo.” Dean looked down at Cas, almost copying the angels confused head-tilt.  
“What was that?” the hunter asked.  
“I think he said ‘Thank you.’” Gabriel said, appearing out of nowhere. Dean scoffed.  
“What, are you fluent in baby now?” The hunter didn’t even flinch anymore. He was getting used to him randomly popping up. Gabriel shook his head.  
“Nope, just a guess. That’s what I heard.” The archangel was sucking on a lollipop and pulled off of it with a ‘pop’. Dean rolled his eyes and continued to make the bottle.   
“Where were you this morning?” Dean asked. Gabriel smiled.  
“Aww did you miss me, Dean-o?” Gabriel teased. Dean rolled his eyes again and shook his head. Dean heard movement in the general direction of the beds. Sam was finally awake. As soon as Cas was happily sucking on the bottle Dean turned around.  
“So, are you ready to hunt some witches?”


	11. Casmiria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! It's been a while, but here's the next couple of chapters. Things start picking up a bit here, with the plot progression and all. Enjoy!

Dean didn’t know how or when, but as they walked out of the hotel room that morning, Dean saw something that gave his mood a permanent up-turn.  
“Baby!” he yelled, jumping into the air and running towards his the Impala. Gabriel smiled and nudged Sam. Dean had hurriedly unlocked the car and quickly gotten into the driver’s seat. By the time Sam and Gabriel got to the car, Dean was petting the steering wheel and promising never to leave her again. Gabriel and Sam just looked at each other and then away, shaking their heads. Cas was sitting on his leg, having been deposited there when Dean got into the car. It took Dean 5 minutes to notice the addition to the backseat of his car.   
“What the hell?” he asked, gathering up his little angel and moving to open the back door.   
“It’s called a car seat, Dean. It’s what we put babies in so they can ride.” Gabriel answered sarcastically. Cas looked down at the little seat. It had all sorts of knobs and straps to it. It looked more like a torture device, if you asked him. A torture device that happened to be covered in flowers. Cas rolled his eyes. Of course Gabriel had to get one with flowers on it.   
“No.” Cas said, shaking his head. Everyone looked at him incredulously and he realized that he had just said a word. He got excited and tried to say a sentence, but much to his disappointment all that came out was babble.  
“Ahh, well, don’t worry Cas. We’ll get you changed back soon enough.” Dean said when Cas slumped from not being able to talk. He gently sat the tiny angel in the car seat despite his protests.  
“Cas, stop! It’s against the law to not have you in one of these and this is the only one we have. You have to sit in it. Don’t worry, I’ll get you out as soon as I can.” Cas finally allowed himself to be strapped into the car seat.   
As soon as everyone was strapped in and ready to go Dean drove off. He reveled in the fact that he was finally driving his baby again. It had only been two days but it had felt like a lifetime. Sam and Gabriel were quiet, and the only noise was the radio, but it was turned down to the point where it was background noise. In no time at all, it seemed, they were pulling up to the building. Dean glanced around as he turned off the car.  
“It doesn’t look like a witch’s hideout.” Dean said. It was a single-story brick building with a large garden and a gazebo. Gabriel shrugged.  
“Looks can be deceiving.” He said as he climbed out of the vehicle. Sam quickly followed leaving Dean alone in the car. Dean sighed and got out, opening the back door so he could get Cas out. The little angel was silent as he gazed out at the building.  
“Don’t worry.” Dean said as he unbuckled the baby. “I promise I won’t anything hurt you.” Cas ignored him and continued to stare up at the building. It had a sense of foreboding to it, even with its cheery exterior. Cas shivered slightly and clung to Dean, who turned to face the other two.  
“I thought we were watching a ritual?” He asked, and Sam nodded.   
“We are, but they said to meet here first yesterday.” Sam said, looking at his watch. “We’re about an hour early. We should use this time to look around.” Dean nodded. Clutching Cas tightly, Dean set off to the other side of the house the others could call him back. He peeked in the windows and crouched down to shift through the flower bed. Standard garden (at least for a witch) : sage, black-seeded poppy, belladonna, foxglove, monkshood, and mandrake.   
“Definitely a witch’s garden...” Dean muttered. He stood up and brushed off his jeans, continuing to walk around the house. He met Sam at the back door.   
“Find anything interesting?” Dean asked. Sam shrugged.   
“Not really. You?” Dean shook his head.   
“Just the standard witchy garden supplies.”  
“Uhh, Guys!” Gabe yelled at them from the front of the house. Without making a subconscious decision to do so, Dean tightened his arms around Cas. Both him and Sam took off for the front of the house, Sam in the lead.   
“What is it?” Sam demanded as they turned the corner. Gabriel smiled and nodded over his Sam’s shoulder. Dean turned around to see the woman from the hotel smiling serenely at him from the front porch.  
“Hello, again, boys. My name is Casmiria. How can I help you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You pronounce her name Caz-mir-uh, by the way. Comments and Kudos are greatly apprecitaed and promise I will answer you eventually!


	12. Freaking Witches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter!

Dean swallowed. Of course it was. Of-freaking-course it was the same woman. She had probably been keeping an eye on Cas since she’d changed him. She had known who they were the entire time. Instinctively, Dean held Cas tighter against his chest. This did not go unnoticed by Casmiria. She seemed to find the gesture…amusing. Well, at least she smiled.  
“I mean you no harm at the present. I know that you three are not here to watch any ritual. Now, come inside and we can...” she paused for a second. “...talk.” She glanced at Cas and turned, clearing expecting for them to follow her inside the house. Dean glanced at his companions.  
“What should we do?” Sam asked. He stood slightly off to the side, his stance half-ready to run, half-ready to fight. Dean swore under his breath. This shit was not supposed to have happened. They were completely unprepared for a fight, especially a fight with an obviously powerful witch.   
“I don’t think we really have a choice.” Dean said darkly. He hated being blindsided almost as much as he hated witches. And the fact that they had just been blindsided by a witch didn’t make matters any better.  
“I can get us out of here.” Gabriel offered, but Dean shook his head.   
“No point. She’d just track us down again. Might as well get this crap over with.” Dean said, and turned to follow the witch into the house.  
Cas was in shock. He couldn’t believe that Dean-Dean-was actually going to go into a witch’s house. Not only a witch, but the witch- the one who had turned him into his human infant. Cas remembered her all to clearly now. He had been at a bar, (following a lead on a vengeful spirit) and she had walked up to him and started to talk to him. Well, flirt was probably a more accurate word. Cas could tell that she wanted to…what was the expression? Take him home? He told her that he was not interested (To quote: “I am not interested in having intercourse with you. I wish for you to leave me alone.”) and apparently that had offended her. And now they were going to stroll into her house to talk. Cas whined and tried to pull Dean away, towards the Impala.  
“Shh, Cas, it’s alright.” Dean whispered. “I promise I won’t let her hurt you.” Cas struggled and whined. It wasn’t himself he was worried about.   
Dean led the way into the house. He probably should have let one of the other two go first, considering he had Cas, but he didn’t think. Luckily, the witch (Casmiria?) had disappeared for the time being, leaving Dean, Sam, Gabriel, and Cas with ample time to take in their surroundings.It was actually charming on the inside. The entryway fell straight into a living room, which was clearly open to the kitchen. The walls were painted an off-white color and the floor was nothing but darkly stained hardwood. There was a cheerful looking fireplace in the living room and what (to the untrained eye) looked like a marble coffee table. Dean knew, however that this ‘coffee table’ was in fact an altar. It was one of the more elaborate he had seen, white marble, candles, the works, but nonetheless it was what it was. Casmiria returned carrying a tray with a teapot, cups, and tiny sandwiches on it. She immediately noticed their interest in her most interesting piece of furniture.   
“It was my mothers. My family is originally from England.” She gestured for them to sit down, more telling than asking, but that seemed to be her usual way. Dean sat in a chair as far away from the couch as possible, so she couldn’t sit by him or more importantly, Cas. Sam and Gabriel sat on the couch and Casmiria sat in the chair on the other side of it. She poured the tea into the teacups and passed them around. They all accepted, but nobody took a drink. She didn’t seem surprised.  
“So tell me, boys, why are you here?” She asked. Dean swore internally. She knew exactly why they were here and yet. Damn witches. Sam, Dean, and Gabriel exchanged glances. Dean cleared his throat.  
“Well it seems that one of the witches in your coven has cast an age spell on one of my friends.” He said, looking her in the eye. The witch tilted her head, as though she was surprised.  
“Is that so?” She said, smiling at him. The look on her face pissed Dean off. He squared his shoulders and sat up straighter.   
“Yeah, it’s so. So, if you could, I would appreciate you finding the witch that did it and getting the damn spell reversed.” Dean said, a little sharper than he had intended it to be. She didn’t seem upset by his rudeness-on the contrary, she actually laughed.  
“You expect me to help you, hunter? When your kind has found and killed mine for centuries?” She laughed again.  
“You had better. Otherwise…” Casmiria stopped laughing suddenly. She looked at Dean and cocked her head.   
“Are you threatening me, hunter?” She asked. There was a trace of anger in her voice. Dean opened his mouth but Sam cut him off.  
“No, ma’am, he wasn’t.” Sam said, throwing Dean a shut-up-now look. The witch turned her face towards Sam instead. “We were just hoping you would be able to tell us who did it.” She raised her eyebrows and laughed shortly.  
“Why, it was me, of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Kudos? I love it all.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry it's been so long, but I have another couple of Chapters for you today! Enjoy!

Chapter 13: Asphyxiation

            Sam, Dean and Gabriel all looked at each other. None of them had expected her to just outright admit that she had been the one to change Cas into anything. She smiled pleasantly at the three of them and sipped her tea.

“I had a good reason, of course. Don’t go thinking that I just curse people for fun.” She laughed. It was a pleasant, tinkling laugh that Dean did not think went with her whatsoever. Dean couldn’t think of anything to say, and if he was judging by the way the other two were staring at the witch he was pretty sure they didn’t know what to say either. Finally, after a long stretch of silence, Sam cleared his throat.

“You….uhh…had a good reason?” he asked. Casmiria smiled.

“Of course. Your… ‘friend’…” she said the word disgustingly, as if it had left a sour taste in her mouth “had the gall to turn me down before I had even propositioned him.” She laughed again. “Perhaps I acted a little rashly. I can understand why he did now.” Dean’s urge to laugh turned into confusion. The thought of Cas turning the witch down was hilarious, but why did she understand now?

“What do you mean, you understand why now?” Dean asked, shifting slightly closer to the witch unintentionally. She turned towards him with a smile on her face.

“So you don’t know…hmmm…now that is quite… _interesting._ ” She smiled, but there was no humor behind it. It looked more like a wolf that had just cornered its prey. “As fun as it would be, I don’t I’m going to be the one to enlighten you. You should ask your angelic friend.” She smiled and gestured to Cas. Dean looked up at her.

“Uh, I kinda can’t because he’s a freakin’ baby!” Casmiria’s smile froze on her face. She frowned and stood slowly. All three of the men in the room shrank back as the air surrounding her began to crackle with electricity. Literally. The air around her was actually _sparking_ like someone had managed to stick it into a light socket. She glared at Dean.

“You need to learn your manners, hunter. You have no idea the potency of my power.” She pointed at Dean and he couldn’t breathe. It was like all of the oxygen in his lungs had suddenly disappeared and he couldn’t do anything to get it back. He opened his mouth and tried to suck in a breath but it seemed like the air was too thick. It wouldn’t get past his mouth. Dean knew he had to do something, but he couldn’t attack her. There were already black spots in his eyes. He was suffocating, and in order to make it stop, Dean knew the bitch would want him to beg. Despite all of the suffering, he couldn’t do it. Call it pride, call it stubbornness, call it what you want, but for no matter could Dean give this-this _thing_ the satisfaction of knowing that it had gotten to him. So instead of begging, Dean stared at her, his eyes portraying no emotion other than hatred. He would NOT beg.

            Cas was freaking out. Dean was dying. The evil witch was doing something so Dean couldn’t breathe. The tiny angel kept ahold of Dean, making small noises of distress knowing that his hunter was in such danger. He couldn’t concentrate well enough to speak, which was probably a good thing, considering what he was thinking would only make the current situation worse. Cas slapped at Dean’s face, trying to make him stay awake. If the hunter passed out, Cas knew it would all be over. He had to keep him awake.

            Dean was fighting a losing battle. The struggle to breathe was exhausting his lungs and throat, and he could barely keep his eyes open to glare at the witch. Of course, Cas slapping at his face wasn’t really doing anything but drawing his concentration off of the witch in front of him. In one last attempt of bravado, Dean closed his mouth and set up straight, staring Casmiria down as he felt his consciousness slipping away. Suddenly, it was all over. Air refilled his lungs and his oxygen-deprived body started to greedily sucking in the newfound air. Casmiria was still standing up, but there were no more sparks and she was smiling slightly.

“Pity. I wanted you to beg, but your hunter’s pride just wouldn’t allow that, now would it?” She said, walking towards him. “Such defiance. I respect that, Dean Winchester, I really do.” Dean watched her approach, still breathing heavy. He had no idea how she knew who he was but that really didn’t matter. She stepped directly in front of him and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “I find your defiance rather…arousing, Dean Winchester. I like men that won’t…break.” She stood up and ran her hand along his jaw before striding across the living room and returning to her seat, leaving Dean feeling disgusted and filthy behind her. She addressed the three of them.

“Now, I will be more than happy to reverse the spell on your charming angelic friend. But of course, you will have to do a little something for me.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter!

Chapter 14: Compromise  
Sam couldn’t move to help his brother. Literally. His muscles would not obey any command that he gave them. All he could do was stare helplessly as the witch choked the life out of his brother. At first he thought it was the witch that was keeping him still, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Gabriel’s expression and knew instantly that it was him. Gabriel was keeping him from helping Dean. As if Gabriel was reading Sam’s mind (which, knowing the angel he probably was) he archangel shook his head slightly. Logically, Sam knew why Gabriel was keeping him pinned. Sam knew that if he reacted then the witch would kill him, or Dean, or hell, maybe even both of them. Sam saw the defiance on his brother’s face and knew that Dean wasn’t going to give up. A rush of pride went through him but it was short-lived when Dean started to gasp. More than ever Sam wanted to go to the aide of his brother but that God-damned archangel was not going to let him up. He struggled but there was no point. He was powerless against Gabriel.  
Suddenly, it all stopped. Dean was breathing again and the witch…she was smiling.   
“Pity. I wanted you to beg, but your hunter’s pride just wouldn’t allow that, now would it?” She said, walking towards him. “Such defiance. I respect that, Dean Winchester, I really do.” She leaned down over Dean and Sam didn’t hear whatever she said to him, but judging by this brother’s expression it wasn’t good. She looked at Dean with an unmistakable lust in her eyes. The woman turned around and walked back to her chair.  
“Now, I will be more than happy to reverse the spell on your charming angelic friend. But of course, you will have to do a little something for me.” She said, smiling slightly. Sam felt the pressure around him go away and assumed Gabriel had released him. He cleared his throat before addressing her.  
“What…uhh…what do you want us to do for you?” he asked nervously. Gabriel was behind him, close enough that Sam could feel his body heat and the presence of the archangel (although he had just held Sam down against his will) was enough to give him strength to sit up and face her. She turned towards Sam a smiled at him.  
“I’m not sure yet. It’s obvious you would go through great lengths to get him back…part of me wonders just how…far…the three of you would go….” She trailed off, her sentence leaving all sorts of implications up in the air. Sam glanced back at Gabriel and then at Dean. All of them silently agreed to not say anything.  
“No? Don’t think that’s fair? Hmm…Let’s see…I could always have one of you take his place….” She mused, all but ignoring the three of them. “Or….no…that just seems cruel.” She continued talking to herself muttering different ways she could use them. Sam, Dean, and Gabriel all sat there quietly, stealing glances at one another. Until finally she yelled “Yes! That will work perfectly. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?” She stood up and strode out of the room, her long dress whipping around the corner. Dean glanced over at Sam and Gabriel.  
“What do you think she is going to have us do?” he whispered, knowing she was still in the house. Gabriel shook his head.  
“Wish I could say, Deano. But chances are we aren’t going to like it very much.” Suddenly, Casmiria swept through the room again, the hem of her dress flying cape-like out behind her. She walked to the old desk in the corner of the room and withdrew a folded piece of paper and a long quill out from her dress. A quill? Dean thought. He knew that she was eccentric (to say the least) but a quill? That was taking ‘eccentric’ to the edge and diving off with it. She opened a bottle of ink and dipped the quill into it before hastily scratching something onto the piece of paper. The three men just watched, occasionally giving one another questioning looks. After what seemed like a lifetime she finally turned around.  
“Now then.” She said. “It’s simple. I want you to find this man and bring him back here.” She said, handing Dean the piece of paper. He looked down and saw the name Andrew Williams written, along with an address.  
“You aren’t going to hurt him are you?” Dean asked. Casmiria smiled.  
“No. But he owes me and I intend to collect. Do this, hunter, and I will turn your angel back.”  
“Why can’t you do it? You have his address.” Dean asked. The witch rolled her eyes.  
“He’s hidden himself from me. I am a very skilled witch, but even I can’t overcome his spell. I am not allowed within 3 miles of that address.” Dean nodded.  
“He’s a witch, too?” Casmiria nodded.  
“It must be humans. Nothing supernatural can go near that place. However,” she said, looking at Cas first and then Gabriel, “I’m almost positive angels are the exception.” Dean exchanged glances with the other two men who nodded.  
“Fine, but one condition. Change Cas back first.” Dean said. “We may need him, if this guy is as good as you say he is.” Casmiria looked questioningly at Dean. “I mean, I know you can find us no matter where we are. We will hold up our end of the bargain, but I want you to change Cas back now.” A long silence stretched on, Dean (despite just about being suffocated by her) was staring down Casmiria, looking determined and not at all afraid until finally she nodded.   
“Alright, hunter. I’ll change your angel back. Just know if you double cross me….” Dean rolled his eyes.  
“I know, I know. You’ll find me and kill me or make me your sex slave or whatever the hell it is that you witches do. Now, please, just give me my angel back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments are almost as lovely as you people who are taking the time to read this :)


	15. Finally

Chapter 15: Finally

Watching the witch gather the ingredients for the spell was downright _aggravating_ for Dean. He knew the witch (bitch) was taking her sweet time in getting the spell ready, probably just to piss Dean off.

Well, fuck her. It was working.

Dean had never been the most patient man to begin with, and with Cas hanging in the balance his patience was wearing _much_ thinner than usual (which, until this point, Dean would have said was impossible.) Dean stood up, unable to sit for any longer, and started to pace. Both Sam and Gabriel shot him warning glances but he ignored them, clutching tiny Cas tight to his chest. Did he really trust her to bring him back? What if she did something worse to him? The worried eyes of his two companions showed that he wasn’t alone in not trusting the spell Casmiria was putting together.

After what seemed like _hours_ (which in reality was about 20 minutes) she straightened up over her alter.

 “I’m ready.” She declared. She turned to Dean and held her hands out for Cas. “May I?” Dean turned so Cas was facing away from her.

“Hell, no, you can’t. Who knows what you are actually going to do to him?” he spat. Casmiria smiled.

“I need the angel to complete the spell. I promise you, Dean Winchester, he will not be harmed.” She said, her hands still outstretched. Dean looked at Sam (who nodded), Gabriel (who shrugged), and finally down at Cas. He wasn’t going to give the angel up unless he had Cas’ say-so.

Cas looked up at Dean. He knew Dean was waiting for his permission before he gave him to the witch. Cas was scared, and he did not like it. As an angel, he was usually shielded from human emotions but since being turned into an infant, well, he had gotten a lot more familiar with the sensation of ‘fear’. (That was one reason he had clung to Dean, because he trusted the man more than anyone else). But he had gotten used to the feeling, and, scared or not, he was tired of being a child. This was one way that may get him turned back. Slowly, he nodded, and stretched out towards Casmiria.

When Casmiria reached out to grab Cas, Dean let her, although all of his instincts were screaming at him not to. She smiled reassuringly at him (what the hell was _that_ all about?) as she turned her back towards them and started to speak. Her voice was low, so Dean couldn’t hear but a word or two every now and then, but he honestly didn’t care. So long as Cas was returned to normal size. Finally she turned to them and handed Cas back to Dean.

 “Take him and put him to sleep. When he wakes up, he’ll be back to normal. The side-effects should only last a few days.” Dean glanced up.

“Side-effects?” he growled and she nodded.

“From being human. He will still have some…human traits. Such as eating, sleeping, using the bathroom. Things like that.” She wiped her hands off on her long skirt. “I’ll show you out. And remember, Dean Winchester,” She turned to him and raised her finger. “Keep your word, otherwise being an infant will be the last of your worries.” Dean rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Eternal doom, I get the gist.” He strode past her and opened the door. “See ya.” He said, and walked out without looking back. He knew Sam and Gabriel would follow. He made sure he was out of earshot before looking at the angel. “You okay, Cas?” he whispered. The tiny angel just nodded. “Good.” Dean said, and opened the back door of his Impala to start strapping the little guy in.

 

Cas didn’t put up too much of a struggle.

He felt…strange. The witch hadn’t hurt him, and he wasn’t lying when he had told Dean he was okay, but still. He didn’t know how describe how he was feeling. It didn’t hurt. He wasn’t…scared. Or tired. Or anything. He just felt…strange. He heard footsteps and watched Gabriel and Sam approach the car.

“So what do you think?” Sam asked Dean. Dean just shrugged.

“I don’t know, Sammy. I’m crossing my fingers that she is right but…I just don’t know.” He turned to the car and got in.

“I hope so, too.” Gabriel said, and Sam nodded. Sam climbed in the passenger seat and Gabriel climbed in the back.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Dean muttered, and suddenly floored the Impala, heading back down to the road towards the motel.

 

It was late afternoon by the time they got back. The sunlight was filtering down through the trees, bathing everything in a beautiful, golden light. Dean pulled up to the curb and climbed out of the car, going to the backseat immediately to get Cas out. The tiny angel was yawning when Dean finally pulled him from the car seat. Dean gently laid Cas against his chest and started to soothe him quietly. Sam and Gabriel exchanged grins but Dean ignored them. Sam, Gabriel and Dean all walked into the lobby and got into an elevator. Cas wasn’t quite asleep yet, (as far as Dean could tell) but he knew the angel was close to it. As quietly as possible, Dean slipped out of the elevator and unlocked their room. Sam reached past him to open the door and the four of them entered the room. Dean immediately walked over to the bed he had previously slept on and laid Cas down. He thought he was going to get away until Cas began to sniffle.

“Looks like you’re gonna have to lay down with him, Dean-o.” Gabriel said. Dean rolled his eyes, kicked of his boots and touched Cas.

“I’ll be right back.” He whispered. Dean went to his suitcase, grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms, and went to put them on in the bathroom. Satisfied, he left the bathroom, took his jacket off and laid down beside Cas. The little angel scooted right up to him and closed his eyes, one hand fisting into Dean’s shirt. Dean smiled and put an arm around the angel.

Although Dean had intended to only stay until Cas fell asleep, his long day caught up with him and Dean fell into a deep, dreamless sleep


	16. Nudity at it's Finest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically I just decided to hell with it and I'm just going to post the rest of the story. Enjoy.

Chapter 16: Nudity at its Finest.

Dean woke up to the sun streaming through the curtains that someone had left open. He yawned and stretched and something pulled at his shirt, causing him to look down to see that Cas was still fast asleep and still cuddled up to Dean, complete with his hand still gripping Dean’s shirt.

Only Cas wasn’t a baby anymore. His vessel had been returned to its former glory.

And he also happened to be completely naked.

Where the clothes he had had on went, Dean didn’t know. He only knew that Cas was cuddling up to Dean. Naked. Dean looked around and didn’t see Sam or Gabriel. Gently, he began to pry Cas’ fingers from his shirt. The angel stirred slightly but didn’t wake up. Dean thanked God that Sam and Gabriel hadn’t witnessed that scene. They would never let him live that down.

Dean covered Cas in a blanket, trying desperately _not_ to look. I mean, maybe it was just because he had been a baby but to Dean, Cas was absolutely beautiful. Maybe it had taken Cas being an infant to make Dean see it, but hell, he was hot. Dean shook his head. _Stop. Stop that right now._ He thought. _It’s not going to do you any good._ Dean sighed. He had always kind of found guys attractive…that wasn’t weird was it? He still loved women. But there was nothing wrong with being able to admire a pretty face every now and then.

Was there?   

Cas snorted and broke Dean from his trance. Without realizing it, Dean had turned and walked away from the bed. His heart leapt and his stomach dropped when he heard a rough voice.

“Dean?” Cas said, his voice rough with sleep and disuse. Dean turned around and hurried over to the bed.

“Cas. How are you feeling, buddy?” He asked, putting a hand on Cas’ forehead.

“I’m fine, Dean.” The angel said, looking up at Dean. He looked down to the thin sheet that covered him and then back up at Dean.

“Dean, why do I not have any clothes on?” he asked, tilting his head. Dean smiled. He had almost forgotten that Cas did that.

“Oh…you were like that when I woke up. I guess the whole ‘changing back’ deal didn’t include clothes.” Dean said. Cas looked down and Dean almost swore. Morning wood? Really? As if it wasn’t awkward enough.  He turned around and pointed towards the bathroom.

“Go pee. It’ll fix that.” He said, one hand covering his eyes. He heard the bed creak and then the bathroom door shut and he sighed. The door opened and Sam and Gabriel walked inside, Sam carrying a bag of food and Gabe was carrying coffee. Dean spoke.

“Cas is back to normal.” He said. Gabriel grinned.

“We know, Dean-o. Saw him this morning. Didn’t want to wake you.” Sam busted out laughing and Dean blushed.

“Shut-up.” He growled turning around. The bathroom door opened the moment Dean turned and Cas walked out, still completely and utterly naked. Dean turned around again closing his eyes.

“Dammit, Cas!” he swore. Dean could hear Cas’ confusion.

“Did I do something wrong, Dean?” he asked. Dean sighed.

“No, just…put some clothes on.”

Cas looked down. He looked back at Dean who was turned away, Sam who was determinedly _not_ looking at him, and Gabriel, who was grinning at Dean.

“I don’t have any clothes, Dean. The ones you bought me will not fit me now that I am not an infant.” Cas turned and looked at himself in the mirror. He had never noticed, but he had a very nice vessel. Jimmy Novak was a very attractive man, even to an angel’s eye.

“Dammit, Cas.” Deans swore and walked over to his own duffle bag. His jeans and shirts would be too big on the angel, but they’d fit better than Sammy’s. He pulled an AC/DC t-shirt out and a pair of holey jeans.

“Are you gonna let him go commando, Dean?” Gabriel asked, smiling wickedly. Dean shot a look of hatred at Gabriel before pulling out a pair of boxers. It just so happened he hand never worn these. With good reason. They were satin, bright red, and had little white hearts all over them. (Christmas gift from Sammy, the bitch) He passed all the clothes to Cas without looking at him. Predictably, Cas started to put them on right there.

“These feel nice, Dean.” Cas commented as he pulled on the boxers.  Dean flushed and Gabriel and Sam exchanged smiles.

“Just put them on, Cas.” Okay, Dean may be just a little bit attracted to the angel. Just a little. Possibly. He sighs internally. It’s not like Cas would return any of those affections. For Christ sake’s he’s an angel. He is above such human emotion.

And better than Dean could ever deserve.  Dean sighed, out loud this time, and turned to address the others.

“As soon as Cas gets dressed, we can go. I want this witch business over with as soon as possible.”

“How are we getting there? Driving?” Sam asked. Dean shook his head. “I was hoping we could get Gabe to fly us, since we aren’t sure if Cas can yet.” He glanced back at Cas, who had managed to put the shirt on backwards and was fumbling with it.   
“Dean, is there supposed to be a piece of cloth in the front?” He asked, pulling at the collar. Dean smiles.

“No, Cas. It’s on backwards. You need to turn it around.” Cas looks confused and Dean takes pity on him and goes to help. “Take it off.” Cas complied, and Dean fixed the shirt. “Okay, put your arms through.” Cas does, and Dean pulled the shirt down and smoothed it into place. “There.”

“Thank you, Dean.” Cas smiled. Dean pats his shoulder and turns towards the others. Both of them had shit-eating grins on their faces. He rolled his eyes and mouthed ‘shut up’. 

“Everyone ready?” Gabe asked. Cas looks at his feet, which are still barefoot. Gabriel rolled his eyes and popped away, returning in a minute with a pair of boots and socks that match Dean’s. “Here.” He winked at Dean as Cas starts to put on the shoes. Once this is done, Gabe touched them and suddenly they are in Colorado.

“We walk from here. No one can enter this zone by magical means.” Gabriel said, his voice a little irritated. “Not even angels.”

“On foot then.” The four of them start to walk, Gabriel leading, Sam a few steps behind, with Cas and Dean walking together behind them. As much as Dean is trying to deny it, he loved seeing Cas in his clothes.

Cas wasn’t sure he liked this entire ‘being human’ thing. Dean’s clothes felt nice against his skin, but it was almost too much sensation. He could _feel_ everything, and that’s just strange. He felt hungry, but didn’t want to say anything, not when they are so close to the man’s house. He stole a glance at Dean and met his eyes. Dean smiled briefly before looking away, and Cas’ heart pinched.

He was in love with him. He knew that he was. He loved this broken, self-hating hunter, and it was going to kill him, simply because he knows Dean will never return the sentiment. Cas sighed, and then abruptly ran into Sam, who turned to shush him.

They must be there.

Cas crouched immediately. Dean motioned for Cas to follow him and they scurry around the side of the house. Gabe and Sam take the other side and they meet at the back door. Dean drew his weapon as Sam quickly picked the lock. There was a click, and then Sam opened the door. The man was sitting on his couch in his boxers and a white tank top, eating ice cream and watching some sappy movie. He had dark blonde hair and dark brown eyes.

“Don’t move!” Dean said. The guy froze and put up his hands up. He looked scared.

“Are you Andrew Williams?” Sam asked, pointing his gun at the man.

“Are you here to kill me?” he whispered, his voice shaking. Dean shook his head.

“No, actually. Just here to escort you to see an old friend.” Andrew rolled his eyes and dropped his hands.

“Casmiria sent you, didn’t she?”


	17. Andrew Williams

Chapter 17: Andrew Williams

Dean paused. This was certainly an unexpected turn of events. He wasn’t supposed to _know_.

“Were you expecting us?” Dean asked, not moving his gun. Andrew just rolled his eyes.

“Not you in particular. I knew she’d send someone. She never was able to take ‘No’ for an answer.” He put down the ice cream and stood up. “What did she tell you I did?”

The four guys all exchanged glances. This was _not_ how it was supposed to go. He doesn’t even look scared anymore, even though four heavily armed guys had _just_ broken into his house. Instead, he looked kind of… _annoyed_ by the entire thing. Sam looked back at Andrew and spoke.

“She just said that you owed her something.” Andrew laughed.

“ _Me_ owe _her_ something? HA!” he said. “If anything _she_ owes _me_ for putting up with her ass for as long as I did.” Now Dean was really confused. Just what the hell was going on here? Andrew seemed to notice the groups’ confusion and sighed.

“Sit down, I’ll tell you the story.” He gestured to the couches and sat back down in his original position. Dean, Sam and the rest of them cautiously sat down.  “I was part of her coven. White Thorn or whatever. Anyway, after I joined up she kept coming around me all the time and complementing me and all that. I tried to let her know that I wasn’t interested, but she wouldn’t take any of my hints. So one day I just told her ‘Look, you are an amazing woman but I’m not interested in being with you.’” He shrugged. “It didn’t go over to well. She kicked me out of the coven and sent hex bags around everywhere trying to kill me so I moved and warded the hell out of this place so she couldn’t get close to me. Found a way anyway.” He chuckled. “That’s all I ever did to her I swear.” _Huh._ Dean thought. _It makes sense. She did turn Cas into a baby when he rejected her._

“Well, we are going to have to take you back anyway. See, she turned our friend.” Dean nodded at Cas. “Into a baby and in order to change him back we had to agree to come and get you.” Dean explained. Andrew laughed.

“You may as well have just sold your soul. Hell would be better than what she’s going to do to you when you fail.”

“I seriously doubt that.” Dean said, standing up. “And who says we are going to fail?” Andrew stood up, facing Dean and spat.

“I do, because I’m not going with you, and I’d love to see you make me.”

“You are going to come with us, if I have to hog tie you and pull you out of here with a rope.” Dean growled. Dean was so focused on Andrew that he didn’t notice Cas walk up behind him. When Andrew opened his mouth to say something else but Cas touched his forehead and he collapsed. Dean watched him crumple to the ground without even trying to catch him. He turned to Cas.

“I had it. You didn’t have to go all angel mojo on him.” Cas cocked his head.

“I wished to see if I could still use my ‘angel mojo’. Also, he will be more compliant this way.” Dean laughed. Sam came to stand beside the two of them.

“So…” Sam said. “can we fly him out of here or are we carrying him for three miles?” Cas bent over and hoisted the man onto his shoulder.

“His magic is still in effect. We will have to carry him.” Cas looked a little strained under the weight of the man.

“Are you okay, buddy?” Dean asked, immediately concerned.

“It seems…”he groaned, “I am not yet…back to…full strength.” Cas struggled to say. With a grunt, he deposited Andrew onto the couch. “I cannot carry him.” Gabriel stepped up and pushed Cas to the side.

“Step aside, Cassie. I got him.” Gabriel picked the man up like he weighed nothing and threw him over his shoulder. Cas looked a little disheartened at notion, so Dean put his hand on Cas’ shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be full angel again before we know it.” Cas looked at Dean and Dean gave him a small smile. They looked at each other until Sam cleared his throat. Dean blushed slightly.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Dean said, brushing past Cas and leaving the angel looking confused behind him.

They get Andrew safely out of the door and about halfway to the exit point before someone notices that they are carrying a body.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing?” a guy asked as he ran up to them in bunny slippers and a house coat.

“Calm down, Man.” Dean says. “My buddy just had a little too much to drink, that’s all. We are taking him home.” The man scoffs.

“I doubt that. I know him. He lives that way.” The man pointed the way that they had come from.

“Look, buddy…” Dean started but once again, Cas touched the guys forehead and he crumpled. Dean caught the man this time. He looked up at Cas, who shrugged.

“We didn’t have time for it Dean.” Cas said. Dean laughed and laid the man on the street.

“Umm, Dean?” Sam grabbed Dean’s shoulder and pointed towards the house the man had come from. The curtain was open and a woman in a bathrobe and curlers was on the phone, babbling and pointing at them. Dean cleared his throat.

“That’s our queue.” He says, and the four of them hurry away, leaving the man on the street.  It takes them roughly 5 minutes to reach the spot where they can fly, and Dean would’ve kept going if Cas hadn’t stopped him. Wordlessly, Cas and Gabriel grabbed their respective brothers and just like that, all five of them were back in the motel room.


	18. Stick to the Plan

Chapter 18: Stick to the Plan      

As soon as they were back at the motel, Gabriel threw Andrew onto a bed. Literally.  Luckily for him, the guy was still passed out.

“Goodness, between that guy and you, Samsquatch, I’m surprised I was able to fly.” Gabriel teased, wiggling his eyebrows at Sam, who rolled his eyes. Castiel looked confused.

“If you are having trouble just carrying Sam and Andrew, I would fear that something is wrong. You should be able to lift much more than that.” He said, looking worriedly at his brother. Gabriel just smiled.

“It was a joke, Cassie.” The archangel said patiently.

“Oh.” Castiel said. Dean chuckled lightly. Cas’ innocence in the way the world worked was one of Dean’s favorite things about the angel. Sam cleared his throat.

“So what are we gonna do about him?” he asked, jerking his head towards the bed where Andrew had been unceremoniously dumped just moments before. Dean’s smile faded.

“What do you mean, what are we going to do about him? We’re gonna hand him over to that witch bitch and then go on our merry way.” He said. In no way was he going to mess this up so that Cas might get turned back into a baby. Not that he minded taking care of him, not really, but he liked Castiel much better as an Angel. Sam rolled his eyes.

“Are you sure that’s the best idea, Dean? I mean, what if he could help us get rid of her? The best way to beat a witch is with another one, you know that. And Casmiria herself has told us that he’s a very powerful one. Maybe he can help us.” Sam said. Dean paused to think about it. On one hand, it was a good idea. Rid the world of the plague of that witch(bitch). On the other hand, if they went wrong, Cas would get turned back into a baby. Along with some other dire consequences, he was sure.

“No. We can’t risk that. If we mess up, it will be a whole lot worse than just having an angel as a baby.” He decided.

“Would it hurt to hear what he has to say?” Sam asked, trying (and failing) to use a reasonable tone. Dean glared.

“I’m not willing to risk our lives to save that sap.” Dean hissed in a very final way. He turned and walked away from them, signaling that the conversation was over. He heard Sam sigh and say something to Gabriel, but he didn’t quite catch it. He turned around to see that Cas had followed him, and was suddenly very, very close.

“Cas.” Dean said, a little breathlessly. “Personal Space.” Comprehension dawned in the angel’s eyes and he took a step backwards.

“My apologies.” He said. It wasn’t that Dean minded all to terribly that Cas was so close-in fact, he loved it. Sharing the same breaths as the Angel always made him light headed and weak in the knees. Which was exactly why it couldn’t happen. If Cas stayed _that_ close to Dean for too long then Dean may do something stupid, like closing the distance and covering the angels mouth with his own.

Best to avoid all temptations. Kissing an angel was not something he wanted to do. Especially since said angel would never, in a million years, return the kiss.

“Dean, you may want to consider Sam’s idea.” Cas said.  While I personally do not wish to become an infant again, I am certain that ridding the earth of the witch would be a good thing.” Dean shot Cas a look.

“This isn’t up for discussion, Cas. I said no.” he growled. Gabriel spoke up from the couch, where he was watching the confrontation. (And also eating a candy bar, but when _isn’t_ Gabriel eating candy?)

“Would it hurt to a least hear him out, Dean-0? I’m sure the bitch –excuse me, witch- isn’t expecting us to return so early. It’s not like she gave us a time limit. We can wait for douche-nozzle to wake up and ask him.” He turned his attention back to the television watching a show. (Which Dean recognized immediately as Dr. Sexy, MD.) Dean sighed. He could sense he was losing this fight.

“Fine. When _Andrew_ wakes up, we can talk to him. But I’m not making any promises on what I will or will not do. Okay?”

“Okay.” The three others chimed in together. Dean rolled his eyes and turned away, settling on the bed that wasn’t occupied. He could already tell this was going to be a long night.


	19. Cuddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Destiel cuddles :)

Chapter 19: Cuddles

It became apparent around midnight that their _guest_ wasn’t going to be waking up anytime soon. This meant that they had one bed between the three of them. (Dean was all for throwing Andrew on the floor, but Sam _in-sis-ted_ that was inhumane and cruel, the bitch) So instead, Sam decided to take the couch and let Dean and Cas have the other bed since, according to Sam, ‘It’s not any different from sleeping with him as a baby.’

This of course, was bull. Dean wasn’t sexually attracted to an infant Castiel, and he certainly had never had _dreams_ about him. Dreams that Dean would almost rather die than admit to. Hopefully, though, tonight, those rather embarrassing dreams would stay away.

Dean highly doubted it, but anything was possible, right?

So that’s where they were. Castiel was lying on one side of the bed in borrowed pajamas (Dean’s, of course) and Dean on the other. Gabriel was sitting on the couch with Sam’s legs thrown over him. (He had refused to move so Sam had just gone with it.) Dean resisted the urge to turn over and spoon his angel. He could hear Sam snoring,  and Gabriel was focused on the television. He didn’t know whether or not Cas was asleep but he figured he could get away with cuddling the angel in his sleep. He closed his eyes and rolled over, scooting slightly closer to Castiel. He scooted slowly over until he could comfortably get an arm over Cas. He sighed contentedly and snuggled into the warm body of his angel.

 

Cas feels Dean press against his back and wrap an arm around him. He must be doing this unconsciously, in his sleep. Why else would he hold Castiel like this?

He’s not complaining, though.

It felt really good, actually.  Slyly as he could, he turned his torso so that Dean could hold him more absolutely, which he did, much to Cas’ surprise and pleasure. Dean moved his head up slightly closer to Cas’, so close Cas could feel the hunter’s breath on his neck. It made him shiver, sending delicious chills down his back. Cas moved his neck out of range because there was no way he was going to be able to sleep if Dean is breathing down his neck.  Slowly, carefully, he put his arm on Dean’s and entwined their fingers, which Dean also responded to. Feeling simultaneously sleepy, sneaky and accomplished, he closed his eyes in contentment and fell asleep.

 

It was early the next morning when Dean woke up. He was surprised at how much more entwined him and Cas had become during the night. Cas’ hand was on top of his, their fingers curled together and he was flush up against the angel, with one of his legs between Cas’.  He doesn’t want to wake the angel, and he’s incredibly comfortable, but he knows that he needs to get up. Sam would _never_ let him live it down. Like _ever._

But it couldn’t hurt to lay here for another few minutes, could it? After all, Cas was very warm. Comfortable. He’d just lay here for a few more minutes.

Dean was awoken by the sound of suppressed laughter. He groaned and looked over towards the source of the noise, which turned out to be Sam and Gabriel.

And guess who they were sniggering at? That’s right. Dean and Cas were still very much spooning. Dean had tucked his head into Cas’ shoulder. Gabriel noticed he was awake and nudged Sam.

“Aww, look Sammy. He’s awake.” Dean rolled his eyes.

“Shut up.” He attempted to extract himself from the still-sleeping angel, but Cas was having none of it. When Dean tried to pull his hand away, Cas clung to it harder, rolling slightly and mumbling incoherent words. The more Dean pulled, the more Cas held on. Sam and Gabriel were watching the confrontation and trying their best not to laugh. (they were totally laughing) Dean knew to get away he was going have to wake the sleeping angel.

“Cas.” He said in a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Cas, Cas, buddy, wake up.” Nothing. “Cas, c’mon, I need my arm back.” Dean touched the angel’s shoulder with his head. Cas woke with a start and turned over, almost punching Dean in the face. He blinked several times as his brain gradually started to catch up with his body. He looked at over at Dean.

“Dean?” he said, his voice even rougher than normal from sleep. It made Dean’s heart clench in a fantastic way.

“Hey, Cas.” He couldn’t help but smile.

“Hello, Dean.” Castiel yawned. Dean pulled slightly on his arm.

“Can I have my arm back, Cas?” Cas paused mid-yawn and looked down at their hands. He let go quickly.

“Of course, Dean. My apologies.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He shot Sam a look that said ‘if you ever mention this to anyone I’ll rip your lungs out.’ Sam just smiled. (If Dean had to guess, he would have said it was a _knowing_ smile, but what the hell could Sam know? There wasn’t anything to know, Dammit!)

Dean climbed off the bed and stretched before walking towards the fridge. “It there anything to eat?” he asks. Gabriel points to the table.

“While you all were sleeping, I took the liberty to go out and get you some food.” Dean nodded and happily went to look at the food on the table (more burgers, but he wasn’t complaining) he grabbed one and started to eat it with a blissful look on his face.

“Gabriel, you are my favorite.” Gabriel laughs. No one seems to notice the hurt look on Cas’ face.

 

It shouldn’t have hurt. Dean didn’t mean anything by that comment, and Castiel knew it. So why did he suddenly want to run from the room? It took him a moment to pinpoint the exact emotion he was feeling. Embarrassment. Because Dean had told Gabriel that the archangel was his favorite. All of the sudden he wanted to hide. He was pulled out of his spiraling circle by a movement on the bed opposite of him.

Andrew had finally woken up.


	20. Witches and Rituals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read the note at the end, please :)

Chapter 20: Witches and Rituals

The first thing that registers on Andrew’s face is terror. It makes sense, I mean, who wouldn’t freak out if they woke up in an unfamiliar room with four other men all of which (with the exception of one) are considerably larger than they are. Andrew was no exception. One of those men happen to be sitting on another bed to the right, less than three feet away from him, one of them has frozen mid-bite of eating what appeared to be a hamburger, and the tallest one and the smallest one were stand beside each other, both comically seeming to make the other appear smaller/larger than they acutally are. The small one speaks first.

“Well, look at that. Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up. You must have been a little overzealous, Cassie.” He said. All it takes is this sentence before he remembers everything. The break-in, the fight. But not how he got here. In fact, the last thing he remembers is the guy on the right touching his forehead and then it goes blank.

“H-how d-did I-I get here?” he asked the room. The three men in front of him exchanged looks but it was the one on the right that spoke.

“Gabriel carried you here.” Andrew blinked.

“But…how? I mean, I don’t know where I am but I’m pretty sure…” he started, and was cut off by Dean.

“You are in a hotel room in Wisconsin. Now, what you are going to do is sit there quietly like a good little boy and answer my questions, otherwise, we are gonna tie you up and deliver you to Casmiria like a Christmas present!” Dean says, getting up into the guy’s face. Andrew balked and scrambled backwards on the bed away from Dean, holding his hands up.

“Okay, okay! I’ll answer your questions, just please, don’t hurt me!” Dean moved away from the guy. Sam cleared his throat.

“Is there a way you can get Casmiria off of our backs? Can you kill her?” He asks. Andrew shakes his head. Dean nodded.

“Alright then, pack this son of a bitch up and lets go.” He said. Andrew scooted further away from Dean and held his hands up defensively.

“Wait, wait!!” He half-yelled. “I can’t kill her, but I can put a binding spell on her! It’ll keep her powers sealed away.” Dean looked down at the man.

“Permantantly?” he asked, and Andrew nodded, swallowing hard. His breath was very fast and shallow.

“Th-there’s th-this spell. I-It’s c-called the Black Cord Binding Spell.” His eyes flickered to Sam, then back to Dean. “It’s only supposed to be used if you have no other choice; it’s incredibly powerful and disastrous to get wrong. It requires a very powerful witch. But I can do it.” Sam and Dean exchanged looks. Binding Casmiria’s powers…that was almost as good as killing her. “As long as the knots stayed tied, the binding spell holds.” Sam spoke.

“What do you mean, as long as the knots stay tied?” he asked.

“Well, it’s actually a fairly simple ritual for such a powerful spell. The only thing you need is a length of black cord and generally a picture of the person you are trying to bind. Considering we are binding a powerful witch like Casmiria, I would suggest we do it in person, too.  It’ll be much more effective that way.” He was calming down gradually. “Anyway, first, you have to cast a circle, then focus on the anger and hurt Casmiria is causing to the world.  Then you say, in this case ‘Casmiria, I bind you from hurting others!’ and tie a knot in the cord. It’s standard to do it three times, but if you feel more is necessary, you can do more. Anyway, once you’ve done that you say ‘three times three, I bind you Casmiria’ and then you hide the cord so the knots can’t come undone. Actually, it’s best we burn it, that way they can’t come undone. It’s rather simple, but it’s old magic. That’s why it isn’t recommended for use unless you are desperate. I’d say you guys are desperate.” He grinned.

“If  we get you to Casmiria, can you cast a circle and do the spell?” Andrew nodded. “I should be able to. I can use her altar and things.” He snorted. “A little ironic, using Casmiria’s altar to bind her. But as long as you can keep her distracted, once I start, she’ll gradually lose power.”

“How long will this take?” Gabriel asked, speaking for the first time. Andrew redirected his attention to the archangel.

“Probably 10-15 minutes, depending on how long it takes to cast the circle.” Dean was pacing back and forth, thinking hard about it. He turned towards Andrew.

“One more thing. How in the hell do we know we can trust you? You could just be saving your own ass!” Andrew shrank back.

“I _am_ saving my own ass, dimwit! What exactly do you think Casmiria will do to me if she gets me?” he yelled. “If we can do this, then she’ll be forced to leave me alone. I’ll be more powerful than her.” Sam spoke up.

“Why haven’t you done it before now?” he questioned Andrew. “You say you can do it, but you haven’t yet. So why not?” he raised an eyebrow. Everyone in the room turned to look at Andrew, waiting. He swallowed nervously.

“I haven’t bound her because I can hide from her. But _you_ took that option away from me. So I’m going with the next best option.” He rolled his eyes and looked out the window. Dean walked towards the door and gestured for the other three to follow him. Castiel got up from the bed and followed them all to the door, still looking a little crestfallen.

“So…should we do it?” Dean spoke first. Sam shrugged.

“There are a lot of variables. I mean, what if she takes us down before Andrew can complete his ritual?”

“That’s my problem, too.” Sam agreed.

“He seems fairly confident in his abilities.” Castiel pointed out.

“Isn’t everyone?” Dean replied sarcastically. “I still think it would be easier to just hand him over and be done with the whole thing.”

“Of course it’d be _easier,_ ” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “But it wouldn’t be right. We have a chance to rid the world of something evil. Isn’t that your whole spiel? ” He asked, glancing between Sam and Dean. Dean had to do a double take.

“Woah, Gabriel, since when have you been all ‘let’s do the right thing’? Aren’t you usually just out to save your own ass?” Gabriel shrugged.

“People change, Dean-o. Priorities change.” He glanced at Sam. Dean sighed, recognizing defeat.

“Fine. But if we get killed, I’m haunting your asses.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I try to make my stories as believable as possible, The Black Cord Binding Spell is a legit binding spell. However, I took it and twisted it a little for my own personal usage so that it will fit better in my story. If you don’t know, binding spells are generally used to prevent people from harming others. DO NOT follow my instructions on how to execute this spell. I wouldn’t recommend trying it unless you are familiar with magic already, it literally says this is a last resort spell. If you are a Pagan or a Wiccan and you want to use this spell, here is the link: http://witchesofthecraft.com/category/book-of-spells/banishingbinding-spells/. I repeat DO NOT follow my instructions, please, if you are going to do it, then follow the official instructions. Thank you :)


	21. Best Laid Plans

Chapter 21: Best Laid Plans

Once the plan had been hammered out, the four men went back and crowded around Andrew. Dean glared at the man.

“Look, we are going to go along with your plan to bind Casmiria’s powers. But listen here, asshat, you do everything I say, capiche? No matter if you agree or not, you follow our lead, you understand me?” Dean growled. Andrew nodded.

“Yeah, I got it.” He looked down and noticed he was still in his tank top and boxers. “Do..uh..do you guys have any clothes I could borrow?” he asked.

“No.” Dean said, walking away from Andrew. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. He looked at Gabriel, who nodded and was gone, only to be back 30 seconds later, with clothes in hand. Andrew watched all of this with a fascinated horror.

“Ho-how did he…?” he blabbered, pointing at Gabriel. “Bu-but these are…and then he…but now he’s…what?” The poor man looked so confused that Gabriel laughed at him as he handed him the clothes.

“You have your magic, I have mine, kiddo.” He said. He turned to wink at Sam, who smiled back. Andrew left to go and change in the bathroom. Dean sighed.

“Something tells me this is going to be bad.” He said, which caused Sam to roll his eyes.

“Jeez, Dean, you’re such a pessimist.” Sam walked past his brother and started to load up his pistol. They were carrying all manners of weapons to the fight in order to keep Casmiria distracted while Andrew performed the ritual. According to him, it would probably take all four of the others to keep her busy. Conveniently, this also meant that no one could be there to watch Andrew and make sure he was doing the right ritual.

That was Dean’s problem. He didn’t trust Andrew.

He knew that Andrew’s ass was on the line, too. Even knowing that fact, Dean was still left with a bad feeling about the entire situation. If Andrew did decide to turn on them, then he was almost positive that Casmiria would forgive him for turning in the traitors. The only thing that the man really had going for him was the man’s apparent hate for the witch. Hopefully, Andrew’s hatred of Casmiria would overrule his basic instinct of survival.  It was their only chance.

Dean wasn’t really nervous- after all of the shit he had done, he didn’t really get _nervous_ anymore. But he was definitely uneasy about this plan. There were just too many variables.

Dean had convinced them all to let him take the Impala, even though flying via angels wings would have been much faster. He told them he wanted to drive her because he didn’t know whether or not he would live long enough to drive her again, and since the only reason he was doing this was because they had forced him to, he should be the one to decide how they get there. Which was, of course, his beloved Impala. In the end, they decided it was easier to let Dean have his way.

Of course, letting Dean have his way lead to…complications. Fitting five fully grown men in the car was a major one. After a brief fight over shotgun, (which Cas won, much to Dean’s surprise) they all managed to squeeze into the Impala. Dean and Cas were up front, with Sam, Gabriel and Andrew in the back. Gabriel, being the smallest, had been forced into the middle, wedged between Sam, who was sitting behind Cas, and Andrew, who was sitting behind Dean. Sam had his arm around Gabriel’s shoulders, presumably because he didn’t have anything else to do with it.  In all honesty, Dean was starting to wonder about those two. They seemed to be spending increasing amounts of time together, and, more often than not, whispering together in corners. Whispering that happened to stop the minute Dean came anywhere near them. He knew _something_ was going on with them, he just didn’t know what. It didn’t seem to be affecting anything, so he wasn’t that worried about it, even if it was a little annoying that he was being excluded. He could worry about that later, if they all survived.

Cas seemed unusually quiet to Dean. He didn’t talk much normally, but any attempt Dean made at conversation was met by clipped, one word answers. He spent almost the entire ride staring out the window and ignoring everyone. Dean asked him several times if anything was wrong, but always got the same ‘No, Dean’ each time with increasing annoyance. Dean gave up finally, resolving to ask Cas again once they were alone. The rest of the ride was ridden in silence.

They stopped a little ways away from Casmiria’s house, in order to tie Andrew’s hands behind his back. They had decided this would be the easiest way to gain entry without arousing suspicion. Sam showed Andrew a way to easily slip the knot when the time came. While Sam was demonstrating, Dean pulled Cas off to the side.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything wrong?” he asked him, keeping one hand on his arm so the angel couldn’t walk away. Cas sighed.

“It’s not anything important, I just hadn’t realized it until now and it caught me off guard.” He said, looking at his shoes.

“Hadn’t realized what until now?” Dean asked, confused. Cas glanced up at him and then looked back at his feet.

“That Gabriel was your favorite.” Dean almost laughed, but then remembered that no matter how trivial it had seemed to everyone else, Cas had most likely taken it very seriously.

“You can’t honestly believe that Gabriel is my favorite.” He said

“It’s not of import, I was just under the impression that… _I_ was your favorite.” Cas said, still looking down in embarrassment. s. Dean actually had to laugh.

“Cas, I didn’t honestly _mean_ that Gabriel was my favorite when I said that. I was just happy he had brought food.” Dean explained. Cas slowly lifted his head.

“You were…expressing gratitude that he had brought you food by telling him that he was your favorite?” Cas looked confused. Dean nodded.

“It’s just an expression, Cas.” The angel nodded slowly.

“Does that mean I am your favorite?” he asked shyly, barely looking at Dean. Dean bit his lip. _Of course_ Cas was his favorite, hell, half the time he liked the wayward angel more than he liked his own brother. But knowing that himself and admitting it to said angel were two very different things. He opened his mouth.

“Well, Cas, I…” He started, but was interrupted by Sam yelling at them.

“Dean! Cas! Are you coming?” Sam was climbing into the back of the Impala. Dean sighed, both grateful and a little angry about the interruption. He turned back to his angel.

“C’mon, Cas. We got a witch to kill.”


	22. The Plan? What Plan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this it's only the epilogue, my babies.

Chapter 22: The plan? What plan?

The final few miles to Casmiria’s place were tense, to say the least. Everyone was on edge, and Andrew looked downright scared. The rest of them, having done similar stuff before, were a little more calm. Andrew kept rustling his hands, which were tied with a black cord (the one, ironically enough, that would be used to bind Casmiria). Sam was staring out the window, Gabriel was staring at Sam (or out the window, Dean wasn’t really sure) and Cas and himself were both focused on the blacktop directly in front of them. Finally, they pulled to the side of the road at Casmiria’s house. Wordlessly, they all climbed out of the car. They stood there for a moment, just looking at the house.

“Forgive me if I’m wrong but…aren’t we supposed to go inside now?” Cas asked after a minute, causing everyone but Andrew to laugh. Dean clapped him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, Cas, we are going inside now.” Dean started walking towards the house, and everyone else followed. Cas was directly behind him, followed by Gabriel, who was followed by Andrew, and Sam brought up the rear. He was walking rather close to the man in front of him, trying to give the illusion that he was forcing Andrew to be there. The look of fear on the other man’s face was extremely convincing. Dean saw the curtain move and readied himself as he knocked three times on the door. Casmiria answered immediately.

“Well, hello, Dean. Sam, Gabriel, so nice to see you again.” She paused as her eyes roamed hungrily over Cas. The angel didn’t seem to notice, but the look she was giving him made Dean want to punch her in the face. “Castiel, you look well.” She glanced at Dean and saw his look a second before he was able to rearrange his features.

“Fear not, hunter, I don’t wish to harm your angel anymore. I’m just enjoying the view.” She laughed lightly, her eyes running over Cas again. Dean bit the inside of his cheek in an attempt not to say anything. Finally, Casmiria turned her gaze towards Andrew. She addressed the man in a high, cold voice.

“Andrew Williams. I thought I’d never see you again.” She reached her hand out and slapped him hard across the face.

“That was for abandoning me.” She said, before turning towards the house. “Please come in, everyone.” She stood back to allow them access to the open doorway. Dean glanced around at his group before he led the way inside. Casmiria watched the door as they all filed past her into the house before she shut the door with a snap. Wordlessly, she led them into the living room, gesturing for them all to sit before walking into what Dean assumed was the kitchen. Sam sat Andrew as close as he could to Casmiria’s altar. There was a picture of her sitting on the mantle above said altar. Andrew looked scared, but determined. He caught Dean’s eye and nodded. He was ready. Dean prepared himself and the moment Casmiria entered the room, Dean tackled her.

Granted, he was not intending for her to be carrying a fully-loaded tea tray.

As Dean took her to the ground, said tea tray went flying, the cups and saucers flew into the air, while the sugar, cream, and boiling tea spilled all over Casmiria, causing the witch to scream. Simultaneously, Andrew threw off the rope and jumped to the altar and started to light candles. Casmiria looked at Dean with wide eyes.

“You…you…” she said, and suddenly Dean was flying off of her and onto the couch. Dean hit, but it was a relatively soft landing. He was on his feet again immediately. Sam stood protectively in front of Andrew, who was working feverishly to get the circle cast. Casmiria’s eyes flashed as she realized what they were doing.

“You’re trying to _bind_ me?” she yelled, raising her hand and tossing Sam to the side. He didn’t get as lucky as Dean, crashing into her china cabinet. He fell to the ground and stayed there. Castiel raised his shotgun and shot the witch directly in the back. She whirled, absolutely unfazed by the fatal bullet wound in her heart.

“You’ve bested me for the last time, angel.” She held her hand out and immediately Cas started to glow slightly, he clutched at his chest and fell to his knees. Dean had pulled out his gun, but after seeing Casmiria unaffected by a shotgun shell to the heart he didn’t have much hope it would do anything. But he had to do something, she was killing Cas. He didn’t know how exactly she was doing it but his angel was in a lot of pain and Dean just knew if she didn’t stop he would die. The only thing he could think of to do was to tackle her and break her concentration. So that was exactly what he did.

It wasn’t as smooth as the first tackle. In fact, he barely managed to grab onto her and pull her with him to the ground. She screeched in rage when she felt herself going down again. Dean landed hard, on his shoulder, and rolled away, immediately onto his feet. He glanced at Cas. The poor angel was still unmoving on the ground. What if he had acted too late?

He didn’t have time to think beyond that because at that moment, he flew across the room towards Andrew, who had just managed to get the circle cast. He was met by invisible force acting from the opposite way and looked around to see that it was none other than Gabriel that had kept him from crashing into the man. Dean fell straight to the floor, landing on his ass. He struggled to stand because the only two left standing were him and Gabriel, as Sam and Cas were both unconscious. Gabriel eye’s flashed as he threw Casmiria back using his angel mojo.

“First, you turn my brother into a child because you can’t handle the fact that he didn’t want you, and then you tried to use his own grace to kill him?!” Gabriel yelled. Dean stood back, astonished. He had never seen the archangel like this. Usually, the he preferred to sit on the sidelines and let the others do the dirty work, but Casmiria had pissed him off, and therefore she now had to contend with the full power of an archangel. Gabriel advanced towards her.

“And then, you have the gall to attack my boyfriend!?” Wait, boyfriend? Who was the archangel’s boyfriend? It wasn’t Cas so did that mean…? Gabriel dodged the object she threw at him. Dean didn’t know what it was, it was moving too fast for him to be able to tell, but it made a huge noise as it shattered against the wall. There were objects flying everywhere, and Dean couldn’t see anything but the two most powerful beings in the room locked in combat. It was awe-inspiring. Suddenly, Dean heard a voice behind him.

“Casmiria, I bind thee from hurting others!” It all stopped and Casmiria turned slowly to face Andrew. He was holding up the cord with one knot on there. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

“Casmiria, I bind thee from hurting others!” Andrew yelled, tying another knot. Finally, the witch seemed to find her voice.

“No! No! Don’t, please, I’ll stop don’t take my powers away!” she sounded hysterical. Andrew smiled

“Casmiria, I bind thee from hurting others!” She reached out but nothing happened. Andrew laughed once.

“Learn to take ‘No’ for an answer, will you?” he said.

“Three by three, I bind you, Casmiria!” The witch fell to her knees and started to sob.

“My…my powers…noooo…I’m human now…” Andrew held the cord over a candle and the end caught fire. It burned quickly, having been soaked in Gasoline before they had brought it here. Finally, the last of the rope was pile of ashes on the carpet. Dean immediately ran to Cas’ side.

“Cas.” he knelt down and put his hand on the angel’s chest. He couldn’t detect any breathing. “No, no, c’mon, Cas, no you can’t have…no.” He put his fingers to the angel’s pulse point and could feel a faint heartbeat, but he still wasn’t breathing. “Cas, come on buddy, you have to breathe. Come on, Cas.” The heartbeat was getting fainter and Dean could tell. Gabriel and Andrew had gotten Sam up and they were all standing there watching. Dean was oblivious to them. Dean put his head on the angel’s chest. “Don’t die, Cas, please. I can’t do this without you. Please, Cas, I love you.” Silence. Gabriel and Sam exchanged a look. Dean was almost sobbing, clutching at the angel’s trench coat. Dean felt Cas’ chest rise suddenly.

“Dean.” Slowly, Dean raised his head slowly and met the blue eyes of his angel.

“I love you, too.”


	23. Epilogue

Dean blinked twice as he looked at Cas. He had just said I love you. _Cas had just said I love you._ _Cas_ had just looked at him and said, _I love you._ Dean heart leapt happily and he surged forward unthinkingly to kiss his angel. Cas responded almost instantly, tangling his hands in Dean’s short hair and opening his mouth to deepen the kiss. Heaven. This was what heaven felt like.

After all the denial, the longing, the desire, Dean was finally kissing Castiel. It didn’t matter that he was a guy, none of that mattered because he was _Castiel._ _His_ angel _._ The angel that had rebelled against heaven for him, the angel that would always show up when Dean needed him, the angel who had gripped him tight all those years ago and raised him from perdition.

Finally Dean pulled away to breathe. He smiled down at Cas, a little embarrassed to have done that in front of their brothers.

“Hey, Cas.” he said, for want of anything else to say.

“Hello, Dean.” Cas’ rough voice was breathless. Dean smiled and stood up, pulling Cas to his feet. 

“It’s about time.” Gabriel groaned dramatically. “I thought _I_ was going to explode from the sexual tension.” Gabriel said, wrapping his arm around Sam, who smiled sheepishly at Dean as he put his arm around the archangel in return.

“Shut up, Gabriel, it’s not like you can talk.” Dean smiled at his brother. Yeah, he was a little pissed Sammy had kept him in the dark, but he was honestly too happy right now to be mad at anyone. Besides he and Sam could talk later. A strangled sob broke out and all of them looked at the former witch who was on the floor. They exchanged looks and wordlessly left out of the front door. Andrew followed them.

“I’m glad that’s over with.” he sighed. Dean held his hand out to him.

“Thank you. It would have been easier on you to betray us.” He said. Andrew just smiled as he took Dean’s hand.

“No problem, I hated her anyway.” He turned and started to walk away but stopped and turned back around.

“Can I uhh, get a ride?” he asked. Gabriel laughed and stepped forward gripping the other man and was suddenly gone. Dean turned to Sam.

“So, you and Gabriel, huh?” he asked, Sam shrugged, smiling.

“It…well it just kinda happened. Sorry I didn’t tell you, I wasn’t sure what was going on myself.” Dean just smiled.

“I’m glad you found someone, man. Just…be careful. You know what happened to all of your other hook-ups.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“Gabriel isn’t a hook-up.” he nodded towards where Cas was standing directly behind Dean. “Glad you finally owned up to what you were feeling.” It was Dean’s turn to be sheepish.

“Yeah, well…” He was interrupted by Gabriel’s return. Sam turned towards the archangel, grabbed his face and kissed him swiftly. Gabriel responded immediately, wrapping his arms around Sam and stretching up on his toes. Dean looked at Cas, who was watching the pair with fascination.

“Dean?” he asked, glancing at his hunter.

“Yeah, Cas?” Dean said, raising his brow. Cas swallowed and nodded towards their brothers.

“Can we do that now?” he asked, looking up at Dean. The hunter laughed and pulled Cas close to him.

“Yeah, Cas, we can do that now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long, harrowing ride, but it's finally over. And there is a sequel, by the way, so our boys will be back. Luckily for everyone involved, I've already finished writing it. I should start posting that in a few days :) It's already on Fanfiction.net if you're not in to delayed gratification and want to know what's happening now. Thank you to everyone who's commented and left kudos and been generally amazing you are all such wonderful people :)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, Kudos, all of it is appreciated, whether its good or bad.


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